For more than 50 years since the creation of Ogun State, the Yewa/Awori people of Ogun West have not produced a governor, as power has largely rotated between the East and Central senatorial districts. As the 2027 governorship race approaches, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, has emerged as a leading contender from the West — but faces growing resistance from within the zone.
Critics have drawn parallels between Adeola and Osun politician Senator Iyiola Omisore, accusing both of prioritising personal political calculations over collective regional interests. In the 2018 Osun governorship election, Omisore ran on the Social Democratic Party platform and finished third. After the poll was declared inconclusive, he backed the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Gboyega Oyetola, in the rerun — a move that drew criticism, including suspension by Afenifere. Similar allegations of withheld support resurfaced around the 2026 Osun contest.
In Ogun State, opponents point to Adeola’s actions in previous cycles. Ahead of the 2019 election, he had been viewed by some as a potential consensus candidate from Ogun West but later withdrew and supported Dapo Abiodun. Sources from that period say the decision followed disagreements with then-Governor Ibikunle Amosun. Governor Abiodun has publicly acknowledged the role of Adeola’s network in his narrow 2019 victory. Critics argue this diluted the chances of stronger Yewa candidates such as Gboyega Nasir Isiaka of the African Democratic Congress and Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied Peoples Movement.
The pattern, according to detractors, repeated in 2023 when Adeola publicly backed Abiodun’s re-election against Biyi Otegbeye, a Yewa contender from Ilaro running on the ADC platform with Amosun’s support. Otegbeye finished third.
In July 2026, the Ogun West Concerned Stakeholders, meeting in Ilaro, openly rejected Adeola’s governorship aspiration. The group accused him of working against the zone’s success in both 2019 and 2023 and questioned whether he truly represents Yewa-Awori interests, insisting on candidates with verifiable local roots.
Persistent questions about Adeola’s origins have added to the controversy. Critics have alleged Ekiti ancestry and noted his long political career representing Lagos constituencies before contesting in Ogun West in 2023. His aides have confirmed that he was previously known as Sulaimon Ogunleye and changed his name to Solomon Olamilekan Adeola after converting from Islam to Christianity while working at The Guardian. They maintain the change was personal and lawful, while competing claims about ancestral ties to Pahayi/Ilaro versus other areas continue to fuel debate.
Adeola’s supporters highlight his constituency projects as senator for Ogun West and the formal endorsement he enjoys from Governor Abiodun and the APC structure as evidence of his capacity and continuity.
The unfolding debate reflects deeper frustrations in Ogun West over historical exclusion, as well as broader discontent with governance and economic pressures at both state and federal levels. As the political season intensifies, the contest over who genuinely speaks for the zone remains central to the conversation.
