As the 2027 Ogun State governorship election draws closer, the Friends Network has intensified its grassroots mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, with a visit to Community Development Councils (CDCs) across Ewekoro Local Government Area.
The engagement, which brought together community leaders and development stakeholders, was used to canvass support for Adeola while providing an opportunity for residents to present their most pressing infrastructure and social needs, including good roads, electricity transformers, community secretariat and secondary schools.
The group, which has been taking its mobilisation campaign to communities across Ogun State, said the initiative was also aimed at obtaining firsthand information on the developmental challenges confronting residents and documenting them for presentation to the APC governorship candidate.
The delegation was led by a former Ogun State governorship aspirant, Hon. Kayode Tejuoso, son of the Osile of Oke-Ona, Oba Dr. Adedapo Adewale Tejuoso.
Other members of the delegation included Engr. Ayotunde Ayodeji; RTEAN Secretary, Chief Tiwalade Akingbade, popularly known as Paulo Rossi; Hon. (Engr.) Kennykadri Edu; Pastor Kunle Odewale; Pastor Lekan Araba; Hon. Ojoye Olasehinde; Oke-Ona CDC Chairman, Alhaji Tijani Qozeem; and Mr. Babalola Gafar.
Speaking during the engagement, Tejuoso said the Friends Network was established to bring together individuals who believe in Senator Adeola’s capacity to provide effective leadership and good governance in Ogun State.
He described Adeola as a “talk-and-do” politician whose political experience and record, according to him, have positioned him to provide purposeful leadership for the state.
“All of us in the Friends Network love Senator Yayi. We are friends of the incoming governor, and that is what has brought us together to support him,” Tejuoso said.
He urged the CDCs and Community Development Associations (CDAs) in Ewekoro to properly document their most pressing needs and submit them to the group for onward presentation to Adeola.
“We want to know the pressing needs of every community and have them properly documented. Senator Yayi wants to know what our people need so that he can address those needs when the opportunity comes.
“Make your requests known officially. We will ensure they are properly presented to the incoming governor,” he added.
Tejuoso also urged CDC executives and other community leaders to intensify their mobilisation for Adeola and the APC across their respective communities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Also speaking, Chief Tiwalade Akingbade, popularly known as Paulo Rossi, said Adeola’s political experience distinguished him from other contenders.
According to him, Adeola’s political journey through the Lagos State House of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Senate has exposed him to different levels of governance and public service.
“Since we have been having governors in Ogun State, we have not seen this kind of political experience. Senator Yayi started from the House of Assembly, moved to the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate. He has gathered the experience needed to lead Ogun State,” Akingbade said.
He also described Governor Dapo Abiodun’s support for Adeola as a strong indication of confidence in the senator’s leadership capacity.
Another member of the delegation, Hon. (Engr.) Kennykadri Edu, appealed for unity among APC members, urging them to put aside personal grievances and work together for the success of the party in the 2027 elections.
“If any APC member has offended you, I appeal to you to forgive and let us work together for the progress of Ogun State. Let us support all APC candidates, from the House of Assembly to the President.
“When we are all in the same political family, there will be better understanding and cooperation towards the development of our state,” Edu said.
Responding on behalf of the communities, the Zonal CDC Chairman in Ewekoro Local Government, Mr. Success, declared the support of the people for Adeola.
“Our conscience is for Senator Adeola, Yayi. We believe in him because he is a talk-and-do politician. When he says he will do something, we believe he will do it,” he said.
Success identified good roads across Ewekoro Local Government and the construction of a befitting community secretariat as some of the major needs of the people.
Similarly, the Vice Chairman of the Ewekoro Zonal CDC, Alhaja Jemilat Ogundare, said the people’s support for Adeola was based on what she described as his track record of projects and empowerment initiatives.
“We have been supporting Yayi because of what he has been doing. He is a good product that is selling itself. We have seen his projects and the things he has been doing for the people.
“When you came here, you could see the joy of Yayi on our faces. We need transformers and good roads, and we believe these are issues that can be addressed,” she said.
Ogundare also called for greater attention to the developmental needs of communities across the area.
On his part, the Area CDA Chairman of Ejio, Mr. Niyi Anifowose, appealed for the establishment of a secondary school in the community, lamenting that the absence of the facility had created serious challenges for students and parents.
According to him, although the community has a primary school, students travel long distances to attend secondary schools in neighbouring communities, with some families spending as much as ₦5,000 on transportation.
“We have a primary school in our community, but we do not have a secondary school. Several people have come and promised to build one, but nothing has happened.
“We have seen what Senator Yayi has been doing in other places, and we want to have a taste of that development in our community.
“Some students spend up to ₦5,000 on transportation to attend secondary school, and because of the distance and cost, some eventually drop out of school,” Anifowose said.
The engagement is part of the Friends Network’s ongoing grassroots consultations across Ogun State, aimed at strengthening support for Senator Adeola while collating firsthand information on the developmental priorities of communities ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
