Chinwe Odita
The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Ogun State, Senator Solomon Adeola, has dismissed claims that he hails from Ekiti State.
Adeola, who chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriation, spoke with newsmen in Lagos on Monday on his governorship ambition.
He insisted he is a bona fide indigene of Ogun State, saying both his father and mother are from the state.
“My father is from Ogun State, my mother is from Ogun State. I am from Ogun State. Those who claim I am from Ekiti are jesters,” he said.
The senator, popularly known as Yayi, also debunked claims that his father was buried in Ekiti, explaining that his late father was buried in his house at Ogunsola Street, Alaguntan, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos.
“My father was not buried in Ekiti; my father was buried in the house he built at Ogunsola Street at Alaguntan in Alimosho,” he said.
He described the claims as political gimmicks that would not succeed.
Adeola said his ambition is driven by passion to serve and develop Ogun, not personal enrichment.
“My ambition to be the governor of this state is not based on personal interest or plan to enrich myself or to be in that exalted office to be called governor, but based on passion to serve. Passion to serve the people of Ogun,” he said.
He recalled that his journey to the governorship ticket was not smooth, noting that his first attempt to return from Lagos was blocked, forcing him to contest in Lagos West, while his second attempt to succeed former Governor Ibikunle Amosun also met resistance.
According to him, it was on the third attempt that he secured the Ogun West senatorial ticket and later the governorship ticket.
With 24 years in the legislature, eight years in the Lagos State House of Assembly, four years in the House of Representatives and 12 years in the Senate, Adeola said he has the experience to govern.
He said Ogun needs consolidation and continuity, adding that Governor Dapo Abiodun has laid a solid foundation for economic development, growing the state’s Internally Generated Revenue from less than N100 billion to about N300 billion annually.
He cited projects such as the $7 billion deep seaport with groundbreaking scheduled for November, the Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport, a proposed dairy farm in Ilaro and an OK Gas project as examples of unseen investments.
Adeola said over 65 per cent of roads in Ogun are federal roads, promising to prioritise strategic roads that open economic corridors.
He said his blueprint is anchored on nine pillars encapsulated in his ITESIWAJU agenda, covering infrastructure, tourism and culture, education and environment, security, health, women and youth development, agriculture, job creation and industrialisation, and urban renewal.
He clarified that continuity would not be blind.
“ITESIWAJU doesn’t mean that I want to take everything that this administration is doing. Rather, areas that I need to continue, I will continue, and areas I need to improve upon, I will improve upon. Also areas I need to change, I will change completely,” he said.
He also noted that Ogun West has never produced a governor since the creation of the state 50 years ago, saying it was fair for the zone to be supported.
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