…dismisses opposition’s claims over Senator Adeola’s ancestry, says ‘it’s a non-issue’
By Segun Olatunji
A pseudo-political group, Ogun West Professionals for Yayi (OGWPY), says its plan to deliver 500,000 votes in the February 2027 governorship election in the state for the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, is still on course.
The newly inaugurated President of OGWPY, Dr Morakinyo Oloyede, gave this assurance on Saturday while featuring as a guest on Political Forum, a live phone-in programme on Splash FM 106.7, Abeokuta, anchored by popular broadcaster, Dele Ayodo.
According to Oloyede, OGWPY is not relenting in its determination to make its 500,000-vote plan for Yayi a reality during next year’s governorship election in Ogun State.
Towards this end, the OGWPY President disclosed that the group had come up with a peculiar strategy termed “mop up” to be deployed during the campaigns in the run up to the 2027 general elections.
He, however, refrained from laying bare the essence of the OGWPY “mop up” strategy, stressing that the group would rather keep everything up its sleeves for now for strategic reasons.
Oloyede, however, further disclosed that OGWPY will also be collaborating with professionals in the two other senatorial districts in Ogun State – Ogun Central and Ogun East – to achieve its 500,000-vote target for the APC governorship flagbearer in next year’s election.
He disclosed that this was part of the reasons OGWPY decided to hold its maiden Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abeokuta, the state capital, rather than within the confines of Ogun West, to enable professionals from the two other senatorial districts in the state to actively participate in its deliberations and plans to ensure Senator Adeola’s victory in 2027 governorship election.
Oloyede said, “Our target is that Ogun West should produce nothing less than 500,000 votes for Yayi in the 2027 governorship election. We’re not sleeping, we’re not leaving any stone unturned in achieving this.
“We’re not over-confident of victory. We know too well Ogun West alone cannot get those votes. So, we have strategic alliance with professionals in Ogun East and Ogun Central. We brought our maiden AGM to Abeokuta because of these our people. If you recall, a large number of professional bodies, groups attended our AGM last Thursday in Abeokuta.
“So, there’s no issue of over-confidence. We are selling a very good product, Yayi’s candidacy.”
He also stated that OGWPY is already receiving a lot of “significant” support from Ogun Central and Ogun East, which it’s complementing through engagements with individuals and groups throughout the state to ensure the realisation of its main objective of assisting to secure victory for the APC governorship candidate in the 2027 election.
Back home in Yewa-Awori lands, Oloyede disclosed that long before now OGWPY had embarked on sensitisation tours to all the nooks and crannies of the five local government areas in Ogun West to mobilise, enlighten and educate the people in cities and the grassroots all over the district on the importance of voting during the forthcoming 2027 general elections, particularly for the APC governorship candidate, Senator Adeola Yayi.
He added that during the OGWPY sensitisation tours in Ogun West, the group discovered that an opposition party, which he did not mention, had been making efforts to buy voters’ cards from the people in the area.
This shocking discovery, Oloyede said placed a great burden on the professionals as OGWPY members participating in the sensitisation tours had to intensify efforts to convince the people at the grassroots to stop falling for the opposition’s deceit of buying up their voters’ cards ahead of the 2027 elections, while also pointing out the real danger in such a development.
He assured that OGWPY will continue to sensitise, enlighten and educate the people throughout Ogun West in the run up to next year’s election on the need to exercise their civic duty of casting their votes, particularly for the APC governorship flagbearer in 2027.
The professionals’ president further stated that months before Senator Adeola’s adoption by the ruling APC in Ogun State as its consensus governorship candidate and his subsequent victory at the party’s primary election, OGWPY at its maiden world press conference in Ilaro, had announced Yayi as its adopted candidate for the 2027 gubernatorial poll.
Oloyede added, “Long before any of the political parties decided, we, OGWPY, decided on Yayi as our adopted candidate and decided to work for him. We x-rayed all the aspirants and found him to be the best candidate.
“Yayi has statewide appeal and acceptability. OGWPY was established with the sole purpose of working to ensure Yayi wins the 2027 election and becomes the governor. We can no longer sit on the fence.”
On the opposition’s claims about Senator Adeola’s ancestry, the OGWPY president said the noise being made over the matter is a non-issue because Yayi’s origin as an indigene of Ogun State had long been proved even with documentary evidence.
He added that Yayi had been identifying with his Yewa roots many years long before he contemplated the idea of contesting for any political office in Ogun State.
“Yayi is from Yewa. He has his roots in Isaga and the Isaga people are everywhere in Ilaro, Ogun and Lagos. If he was not from Ogun State, his so-called real state of origin would not have left such a candidate with high pedigree for Ogun State,” Oloyede said.
