Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Some indigenes of Ogun State resident in Enugu State on Friday hosted the Peoples Democratic Party’s deputy governorship candidate, Hajia Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, at a reception in the coal city, where they pledged their full support for the opposition party and vowed to mobilise heavily to vote out the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections. The event, which took place on the sidelines of the ongoing 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference, saw the group declare an intensive grassroots mobilisation campaign to secure victory for the PDP in Ogun State.
Addressing the gathering, the Chairman of the Ogun Indigenes Group in Enugu, Dr Lekan Oladapo, said the association had thoroughly reviewed the manifesto of the PDP governorship candidate, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, and was convinced that the candidate and his running mate possessed the vision and integrity required to drive socio-economic development and improve citizen welfare in Ogun State. “Ogun State, by all standards, is not where it should be, to be candid. We are far behind where we should be at this stage. But we have vowed to get it right in the 2027 general elections,” Oladapo said. He said the group had what it takes to join the struggle to protect their heritage and install good governance in Ogun State, in the interest of the people and future generations.
Oladapo expressed concern that Ogun State, despite producing Presidents and first-class professionals across various fields, may be up for capture if well-meaning indigenes do not rise to protect their heritage. He lamented that the state, with its ancient towns of Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta, was not anywhere close to the desired level of development across sectors, including infrastructure, and noted that there was no deliberate effort to leverage the state’s historic spots for revenue through tourism and herbal health. He argued that Ogun State could earn significant foreign currency from the export of herbal products if a government with the goodwill and capacity came up with policies to assist producers in accessing global markets.
The group’s chairman said the elite of Ogun State, both at home and in the diaspora, could no longer be deceived and had realised the need for a change that would move the state forward. He disclosed that many members of the group had already transferred their Permanent Voter Cards back to Ogun State or completed fresh registrations to ensure their participation at the polls. “The 2027 votes for the PDP will be without sentiments. We will mobilise heavily. We will sensitise our various communities, areas and zones and we will vote,” he said. He told the deputy governorship candidate that the people were also aware of her antecedents and integrity, describing her as the most suitable running mate who would add value to Adebutu, who he said had been doing a lot to help the people across the state without being in government. “We are convinced that, by the special grace of God, the governorship election is a settled matter for the PDP and its candidates, not just for the governorship,” Oladapo stated.
Responding, Hajia Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo expressed deep gratitude for the spontaneous reception, describing the support from her home state’s diaspora as deeply humbling. She assured the group that an Adebutu-led administration would strictly fulfil its campaign promises, prioritising inclusive economic growth and grassroots development. She acknowledged the long-standing philanthropic efforts of the Adebutu family across Ogun State, noting that their commitment to public welfare predated executive office. Encouraging members to maintain their momentum ahead of the 2027 polls, Kolapo urged voters to stand firm against political intimidation. “Tell those you have influence over to come out and vote out pain. They should not be intimidated—no one intimidates a child in their father’s house,” she said. She promised to convey the group’s developmental recommendations to the party’s governorship candidate.
The reception comes amid a charged political atmosphere in Ogun State, where the 2027 governorship contest is shaping up as a three-way battle along zoning, money and indigeneity fault lines. The PDP has been intensifying its campaign across the state, with Sowunmi-Kolapo recently mobilising residents of Obantoko communities in Odeda Local Government Area to support the party. The APC, for its part, has dismissed the PDP’s attacks, with its campaign council mocking the opposition’s “ideas deficit” and insisting that the ballot will settle the contest. The governorship election is scheduled for February 6, 2027, with the presidential and National Assembly polls holding on January 16.
For the Ogun indigenes in Enugu, the endorsement of the Adebutu-Kolapo ticket is both a statement of political preference and a claim to a stake in the future of their home state. They have framed their support as a patriotic duty, arguing that Ogun’s potential has been left unrealised for too long and that the 2027 election offers an opportunity to correct the trajectory. Whether their mobilisation will translate into electoral advantage for the PDP will be determined at the polls, but the group has made its position unambiguous: it intends to vote, and it intends to vote out the APC. As Oladapo put it, the votes for the PDP will be without sentiment, and the group will mobilise heavily to ensure that the governorship election becomes a settled matter for the opposition party.
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