ABEOKUTA – A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kayode Oladele, has said the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and other opposition parties in Ogun State are in for a rude shock in the 2027 governorship election, citing the growing political coalition around the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi.
Oladele said Adeola’s sustained consultations, bridge building efforts and engagement with political leaders across party lines were rapidly changing the political landscape of the state and expanding the support base of the APC.
The APC chieftain, in a statement on Tuesday, said the steady movement of politicians and their supporters from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other opposition parties into the ruling party was evidence of a wider political realignment taking place across Ogun State.
“The political realignment we are witnessing across Ogun State is the outcome of sustained engagement and deliberate bridge building. Those who think they understand the political strength that is quietly gathering around Senator Yayi are in for a rude shock.
“Yayi is consolidating the APC and at the same time, reaching beyond the boundaries of the party. The defections we have seen so far are only a glimpse of what is coming. The political landscape is changing and the opposition knows it,” Oladele said.
According to him, Yayi has devoted considerable time to meeting political leaders, community stakeholders and grassroots organisers, including individuals who previously belonged to or worked actively for opposition parties.
He said the APC candidate’s willingness to engage people irrespective of their previous political affiliations had helped to build trust and open new channels of political cooperation.
“Senator Yayi is not sitting down and waiting for endorsements to come to him. He is meeting people, speaking with them and, more importantly, listening to them. He understands that politics is about persuasion and the ability to bring different interests together.
“Many of those moving towards the APC today have been on the other side of the political divide for years. They have examined the situation, considered the candidates and reached their own conclusions. The movement we are seeing is therefore a product of conviction and confidence in the leadership Senator Yayi is offering,” he said.
Oladele maintained that the increasing defections into the APC were not isolated political events but the result of a sustained effort to build a broad coalition ahead of the election.
“There are two important processes going on. Yayi is strengthening the APC from within and expanding it from outside. Those who held different views before the primary are being engaged, while political leaders outside the party are also being welcomed.
“That is how a serious political partnership is built. Politics is about addition, not subtraction. You cannot win a major election by creating new enemies every day or by shutting the door against people who genuinely want to work with you,” Oladele stated.
“People are increasingly looking beyond old political loyalties. The question many are asking is simple: who is prepared for the responsibility of governing Ogun State?
“Senator Yayi has served in the State House of Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate. His understanding of budgeting and public finance is well established. When you place that experience beside his record of projects and empowerment programmes, you begin to understand why his support is growing,” he said.
Oladele added that Yayi’s political reach across Ogun West, Ogun Central and Ogun East had made it increasingly difficult for his opponents to portray his candidacy as sectional.
According to him, the Senator’s interventions in communities across the state had created relationships which were now translating into political support.
“Yayi is not a stranger to the good people of Ogun State. His footprints are visible in different communities. People know his projects and empowerment programmes. They have seen his interventions and many have interacted directly with his political structure.
“So, when he speaks about the future of Ogun State, he is not asking the people to rely entirely on promises. There is a record that can be examined,” Oladele said.
Oladele said the defections into the APC had assumed a steady pace, with members of the PDP and other opposition parties joining the ruling party virtually every day.
“People are defecting to the APC daily and this is happening across the state. What we are witnessing is a steady harvesting of the PDP’s political structures, leaders and grassroots supporters”.
“At the rate people are leaving the PDP and other opposition parties to embrace Senator Yayi and the APC, it is only a matter of time before these parties are left hollow and empty. You cannot continue to lose your leaders, mobilisers and grassroots supporters daily and pretend that all is well.
“The political harvest has begun. Yayi’s message of inclusion and his willingness to engage people across party lines are producing visible results. More people are coming and by the time this political realignment runs its full course, the PDP will discover that the ground has shifted completely beneath its feet,” Oladele said.
He warned opposition parties against basing their 2027 strategy on the expectation of divisions within the APC, saying the ruling party had continued to strengthen its internal structures while expanding its political reach across the state.
“Those waiting for APC to fight itself are wasting valuable time. While they are waiting, Yayi is consulting. While they are speculating, he is building relationships. While they are making noise, the APC is expanding its political base.
“That is why the opposition is in for a rude shock. The political tide is already turning decisively in our favour. Across the 20 local government areas, we are building a formidable coalition that will overwhelm the opposition at the polls.
“By 2027, the good people of Ogun State will deliver a clear and resounding mandate for Senator Yayi and the APC,” Oladele concluded.
