Tag: Yayi

–  A Biography

 

By YAYI Teachers Media

Chapter I:  BIRTH AND EARLY YEAR

The Birth and Parenthood
The arrival of a new baby on Agust 10, 1969 to the family of Mr. Ayinde Abdulgafar Adeola Ogunleye and Madam Abeni Olasunbo Ogunleye (nee Akinola) at the Lagos
Island Maternity Hospital was greeted with the usual jubilation and celebration that normally heralds the birth of a new child especially in Yoruba customs and tradition.

Little did anyone know that the newborn child will be among the movers and shakers of political activities in our nation today, a child destined to be a solution to people’s problems and aspirations, the game changer who is like an Elephant in the room.

The new born was the fourth child of Mr and Mrs Adeola Ogunleye and was christened
Suleman Olamilekan since his Father Ayinde Abdul-gafar
was a Muslim by birth. Following a conversion to Christianity in adult life, he
changed his name from
Sulaiman to Solomon.
The little boy Suleiman now Solomon is today the Senator Representing the good people of Ogun West Senatorial District of Ogun State,
Nigeria.
Pahayi-Ilaro Descendancy
His Father, Ayinde Abdul-gafar Adeola Ogunleye hailed from Ago Isaga, Pahayi from
the popular Agbo ile Elemo Onibata, Pahayi Ilaro , Yewa South Local Government of Ogun State. He was the grandson of Ogundimu Sangoloni and great grandson of Olege one of the early settlers who migrated from Isaga Orile to settle at Ago Isaga Ilaro from where they later moved to Pahayi town, a suburb of Ilaro.
According to the oral history of the family, the civil strife that engulfed the ancient Isaga town in 1862 forced many inhabitants to flee from the
ancient town to find refuge in many locations notably Ilaro, Ago Isaga Ota, Isaga Onlado
near Atan Otta, Ago Isaga Owode Yewa, Ilobi, Ajilete, Oke Odan, Ado odo, including Iju
Isaga, Ilo Village in Ipaja, Isagatedo in Isolo, Isaga Agbado, Isaga Surulere in the present day Lagos West Senatorial District and in some other locations in the present day Republic of Benin all numbering about 100 towns and villages that today have contact with Isaga Orile.
The story of Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi) is therefore a simple history of human migration, tribal settlement and family
relocation from the original homestead to a new
settlement where the family tree was planted and nurtured to its present status.

Oriki Isaga Orile
Isaga Okunmase, Omo ahere owo ko ni gbagede, Omo abere meta Isaga, Ikan se, Ikan
nu, Ikan yoku lafi nran igba aso fun egugun bora, Omo yigbiri, tigbiri, tigbiri, Omo apa
ekute ile o ka awusa, ibi yigbiri yigbiri lo mo.
Omo Akala o mo ori olori ni iju, agada o moju eni yo ran un, Omo ekute ile fi ese gbe yefun.
Ewo bi kekere ile bo se njawo, Omo bonile o sun, ka pe lehin kule eni titi, oorun a ma mu
onile lo.
Kise bi ti ole, omo obinrin ni, won fi nko won laya lo, bi adiye ile yin ba sonu e ma fi lo wa,
awa ki se egbe gbeyegbeye, bi aguntan ile yin ba sonu e ma fi lo wa awa ki ise egbe gberan
gberan, sugbon bi omo obinrin yin rogbodo ba sonu, e ma a bo lehin kule awa, awa la mu u
fi se aya. Awa ni omo a fi Osanyin jagun Oba.

Obaseru a gbe wa o – Amin

MATERNAL RELATIONSHIP WITH KEMTA, Abeokuta

Madam Abeni Olasunbo Oluwaseun, Solomon Olamilekan’s mother came
from a family that was active and prominently known among Egbe Alaro Cloth dealer in the
famous Itoku market. Her grandparent and parent Nofiu Odu and Julius Akinola Sodipo
respectively hailed from Itoku, Kemta in the present day Abeokuta South Local Government area of Ogun State. Their family Quarter located at Baye lane,Kemta has the benefit of producing some prominent Egba Politicians like Chief Wahab Aileru and Hon Fola Omidiji. Pa Julius
Akinola Sodipo’s family farmland was located in Asu Village, in Kobape area of the present day Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE

Young Solomon Olamilekan grew up from early childhood to adulthood in Alimosho
area of Lagos where his parents lived. He began
his education at the State Primary School, Alimosho in Lagos State. On the successful completion of his primary education, he proceeded to Community Grammar School,
Akowonjo, Lagos for his secondary education while his quest for educational advancement in life took him to the prestigious Ondo State Polytechnic, Owo now Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo state earned a Higher
National Diploma (HND) in Accounting. He became a Chartered Accountant at a relatively young age and a member of the Chartered
Institute of Taxation as well as a Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT). Today he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Nigeria and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
Adequately equipped with academic and Professional qualifications, Solomon Adeola’s work experience started with the Guardian Newspapers Limited, the flagship of Nigerian newspapers, where he put in almost 12 years of meritorious accounting service and rose to the position of an Accountant. The young and articulate Solomon Olamilekan in search of greener pasture resigned from “The Guardian” and proceeded to Olatunji Omoyeni & Co, a chartered accounting firm, where he led the audit team for several years and was later promoted to the position of a Senior Auditor. Having cut his teeth in the accounting
profession through education and dedicated practice, Solomon Adeola later established his own company, SOOTEM Nigeria Limited, He
became the Managing director and the Chief Executive Officer of the firm that specialized in
tax consultancy until he ventured into politics out of his penchant to always render service to humanity at a much wider plane.

THE POLITICAL SOJOURNS

Following his stint in the private sector working for a media establishment and
a private accountancy firm, Adeola later established his own company, SOOTEM
Nigeria Limited, a firm that specialized in tax consultancy until his foray to serve in the public sector through participation in partisan politics.
The journey into politics and inspiration to serve was formed in the crucible of activism
and struggle against military rule and ultimately the struggle to re-validate the June 12, 1993
Mandate won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Adeola got a flare from the military regime when The Guardian Newspaper was proscribed by the military regime of General Sani Abacha. A progressive democrat at heart, Adeola and his siblings were foot soldiers in the struggle to enthrone democracy in Nigeria. He frequently joined protests
and demonstrations against military rule and the agitation for the revalidation of June 12
mandate of Chief MKO Abiola. Regrettably, it was in the heat of one such demonstrations
and protests that his blood brother was gunned down by soldiers in Lagos.
Going forward after democracy was eventually restored in 1999, Adeola in his immediate
neighbourhood began his philanthropy and community service in Alimosho and was soon noticed by local grassroots political players as a possible good representative.
Following his decision to join active politics, Senator Adeola pitched his tent with the
progressive arm of Nigerian politics by joining the then Social Democratic Party, SDP. In spite of daunting challenges relating to military
government, Senator Adeola bravely continued with his incursion into politics at the dawn of the 4th Republic. He was nominated and won
the primary of the then ruling Alliance for Democracy, AD and was subsequently elected
as a member to represent Alimosho State Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of
Assembly from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2007 – 2011

YAYI, A RELIGIOUS AND A FAMILY MAN

Senator Adeola, a dedicated Christian, is a believer in religious freedom for both Christians and adherents of Islamic faith. He is on record
to have donated brand new buses to religious organisations of both faiths as well as sponsored several Christians and Muslims to Jerusalem and Mecca on pilgrimage respectively in Alimosho
and the entire Ogun State.

The great philanthropist is happily married to his beautiful heartthrob, Mrs. Temitope Adeola and the union is blessed with wonderful children

Repackaged & broadcast by YAYI Teachers Media

 

By Kunle Somorin

In Ogun politics, succession is rarely a tea party. It is often a storm. It arrives with bruised egos, fractured caucuses, old loyalties, late-night betrayals and the familiar thunder of men who mistake personal ambition for historical entitlement. The state has seen enough of this theatre: the Amosun-Abiodun rupture, the APM detour, ADC counter-mobilisations, and the lingering suspicion that no transition in Ogun is complete until every camp has first drawn blood.

Yet, ahead of 2027, something unusual is taking shape.

Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, is not merely emerging as the reported consensus choice of the Ogun State All Progressives Congress. He is doing something more politically consequential: he is giving consensus a diplomatic meaning.

He is visiting those who lost out. He is sitting with aspirants whose ambitions were overtaken by the party’s collegiate decision. He is receiving their documents, listening to their structures, acknowledging their relevance and converting potential rebellion into managed partnership. That is the quiet genius of the moment.

In other places, consensus produces rumpus. In Ogun, at least for now, Yayi is trying to turn it into a civic handshake. The reported adoption of Yayi as the Ogun APC consensus governorship candidate was significant by itself. The decision was taken at an APC strategic caucus meeting in Abeokuta, attended by Governor Dapo Abiodun, all the living former governors and major party stakeholders. While congratulating Senator Adeola on his emergence as the party’s consensus choice, Gov. Abiodun urged a “no victor, no vanquished” spirit. That phrase matters.

In Nigerian politics, “no victor, no vanquished” is often a decorative slogan recited after the vanquished have already been humiliated. But Yayi appears to have understood that a consensus candidate who behaves like a conqueror quickly becomes the author of his own opposition. So he did not merely wait to be celebrated. He began to move.

His shuttle to Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, Abiodun Akinlade and other stakeholders is the real story behind the story. It is one thing to be adopted by a caucus; it is another to domesticate that adoption in the hearts of those who had their own calculations, structures and expectations.

This is where Yayi’s politics becomes more interesting than the headline. He is treating consensus not as an imperial decree, but as a negotiated settlement. A meeting with Senator Iyabo Obasanjo is not an ordinary courtesy call. Her name carries two forms of capital.

The first is personal: she is a former senator and a figure with her own political experience and structure. The second is symbolic: she is the first child and beloved daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose shadow over Ogun politics remains large, complicated, yet impossible to ignore.

For Yayi to sit with Iyabo Obasanjo after the consensus decision was to acknowledge that Ogun politics is not merely run by party lists. It is also shaped by memory, pedigree, networks and old emotional geographies. Such a meeting sends a message beyond the room: the new project is not afraid of old houses. It is willing to enter them, greet them properly, and invite them into the road ahead.

In a state where political camps can easily harden into hereditary resentment, the optics of that engagement are useful. They suggest that Yayi’s approach is not to erase other claims, but to absorb their dignity.

The visit to Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola may be the clearest expression of the collegiate idea. Isola is not a peripheral figure. He is a local government chairman, former secretary to the state government, former minister, former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, experienced administrator and a man with roots in Ogun Central politics. His own governorship aspiration was not frivolous. It represented a policy tendency, a network and a constituency of belief.

Reports of Yayi’s visit to him carried two important details: the collapse of support groups into the Yayi project and the promise to incorporate ideas from other aspirants’ manifestoes into a broader governance agenda. That is how consensus becomes civilised.

The defeated aspirant is not treated as debris. His policy work is not thrown away. His supporters are not left politically homeless. His intellectual investment is not mocked as wasted paper. Instead, the candidate who emerged says, in effect: bring your ideas; the state is larger than one ambition.

This is the diplomatic meaning of the collegiate. It is not merely that elders have spoken. It is that the ideas of those who did not emerge can still travel into government through the candidate who did. That is a more mature politics.

Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, popularly known as GNI, represents another layer of Ogun’s political history. He has been one of the most recognisable names in the Ogun West governorship struggle. In 2019, he ran under the African Democratic Congress and polled significantly in a contest eventually won by Dapo Abiodun of the APC. His political journey has passed through different alignments, but his relevance in the Ogun West question has remained.

When GNI’s accepted Yayi’s emergence, he was quoted as saying the decision had been made at the party’s top echelon and that “the president has spoken”. More importantly, he urged everyone to come together. That was not a casual remark. It was a surrender of personal arithmetic to collective strategy.

For Ogun West, GNI’s posture is especially important. The zone has waited since the creation of Ogun State in 1976 to produce a governor. Its problem has never been lack of ambition; it has often been fragmentation. Too many sons have gone to the stream with separate calabashes and returned with nothing. Yayi’s project, if it is to succeed, must avoid that old tragedy. GNI’s alignment helps him do so.

It tells Ogun West that 2027 is not the season to reopen every old rivalry. It is the season to consolidate the strongest vehicle available.

The two Akinlades – Abiodun and Adekunle’s – though not biologically related – endorsement also carries historical value. The latter Akinlade’s tendency recalls the turbulence of 2019, when the APC family in Ogun fractured, with the Allied Peoples Movement becoming the vehicle of the Amosun-backed challenge against Dapo Abiodun. That rupture nearly turned succession into political civil war. It taught Ogun APC a hard lesson: when internal wounds are not treated early, they become electoral infections.

The Akinlades movement into the Yayi column therefore represents more than another endorsement. It is a sign that an old insurgent current within Ogun politics is being pacified. This is the art Yayi seems to understand: the management of wounded ambition before it becomes organised sabotage. Every serious candidate must campaign against the opposition. But in Nigerian party politics, the first election is often inside the house. Yayi’s shuttle is an attempt to win that inner election not by crushing dissent, but by making dissent unnecessary.

To understand the deeper meaning of this moment, one must return to Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the progressive tradition he built in the old Western Region. Awolowo’s politics was not merely about slogans. It was about organisation, planning, social welfare, disciplined party machinery and the deliberate use of government to expand human capacity.

As Premier of the Western Region between 1954 and 1959, Awolowo’s administration introduced free universal primary education, expanded social services, promoted agricultural development and established Africa’s first television station in Ibadan. Britannica records his progressive commitment to education, welfare and federalism. Historical accounts of the Western Region’s free education policy show that, from 1955, the programme radically expanded access to schooling and changed the social trajectory of the region.

Awoism was therefore not noise. It was method. It believed in the educated citizen. It believed in the planned society. It believed in competent administration. It believed that politics must be anchored in measurable social benefit.

But there was another element often forgotten: the collegiate discipline of the old progressive order. The Action Group was not perfect, but it understood organisation. It valued caucus, consultation, hierarchy, policy clarity and collective responsibility. Leaders were not supposed to be isolated warlords. They were expected to operate within a disciplined political family.

That is the historical frame through which the Yayi phenomenon should be read. His emergence is not simply the rise of a man from Ogun West. It is the possible return of a collegiate approach to succession: elders consulting, aspirants yielding, structures merging, manifestoes being considered, and the party seeking order before the general election.

That does not mean democracy should be suffocated. Consensus can become imposition if poorly managed. But when consensus is followed by reconciliation, consultation and policy integration, it begins to resemble the old progressive instinct: politics as disciplined organisation rather than permanent warfare.
Politics, at its most practical level, is still a marketplace. Parties do not merely nominate men; they market them. Yayi is easier to market than many aspirants because his claim is not built on biography alone. It rests on representation, visibility and delivery.

He has travelled a long political road: Lagos State House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate for Lagos West, and now Senate for Ogun West. He currently chairs the powerful Senate Committee on Appropriations. That position gives him national visibility and unusual institutional leverage.

His supporters point to scholarships, bursaries, empowerment programmes, transformers, road projects, health facilities, school interventions, ICT centres, grants to market women and farmers, and other constituency projects as evidence that he understands the grammar of practical representation.

Published accounts sympathetic to his aspiration have credited him with hundreds of infrastructure interventions across Ogun West and adjoining areas, including roads, primary health centres, electricity transformers, solar streetlights and educational support schemes.

Opponents may question the politics of such interventions. They may ask whether constituency projects should be converted into governorship capital. That is fair political argument. But even critics must admit that Yayi has made himself visible in communities where politics is judged by the simple question: what did you bring home?

In that sense, he is not merely selling an aspiration. He is selling a record and in a state fatigued by rhetoric, a record is a powerful campaign language.

The deeper achievement of the Yayi shuttle is that it appears to be quietening opposition on two fronts. Within APC, it is reducing the risk of post-consensus bitterness. Aspirants who might have become rallying points for grievance are being visited, respected and accommodated. Their supporters are being given a path into the larger tent.

Outside the strict APC frame, the symbolism is equally important. Men like GNI and Akinlade are not just APC names; they are men whose political histories connect to previous opposition platforms, splinter movements and alternative power centres. To bring such figures into visible alignment is to drain oxygen from possible counter-coalitions before they gather force.

This is why the shuttle deserves attention. It is not mere courtesy. It is preventive politics. Yayi is not waiting for opposition to mature before confronting it. He is meeting it early, greeting it respectfully and converting it into partnership where possible. This is how political storms are sometimes stopped before they acquire thunder.

There is also the moral weight of Ogun West. Since 1976, Ogun East and Ogun Central have produced governors. Ogun West has remained outside the governorship seat. The Yewa-Awori argument has therefore matured from complaint into historical claim.

But history alone is not enough. A zone may deserve power and still lose it if it presents the wrong candidate, fractures its vote, or fails to speak to the whole state.

Yayi’s strength is that he combines the Ogun West equity argument with statewide marketability. He can speak the language of historical correction, but he also brings federal connections, legislative experience and a record his handlers can package beyond his home district.

That is why his candidacy is more dangerous to rivals than a mere zoning agitation. It is zoning plus structure. Sentiment plus machinery. Equity plus delivery.

Still, Yayi’s camp must avoid triumphal arrogance. Consensus is delicate. Those who have yielded today can become saboteurs tomorrow if they feel humiliated or excluded. The shuttle must therefore continue beyond photo opportunities. It must become a system of inclusion: policy committees, campaign roles, local integration, stakeholder briefings and visible respect for those who stepped down or lost out.

The second danger is the perception of imposition. The more his supporters describe him as inevitable, the more they must show that his inevitability is earned, not forced. Ogun voters are not spectators at a coronation. They are citizens in an election.

The third danger is over-mythologising. Calling Yayi an Awoist figure imposes a high burden. Awoism is not merely about empowerment programmes or political structure. It is about education, welfare, fiscal discipline, industrial imagination, rural transformation and clean governance. If Yayi is to be sold through the Awoist frame, he must produce an Awoist-grade development programme.

That means more than campaign generosity. It means a serious plan for Ogun’s economy: agro-industrial corridors, border-town commerce, internally generated revenue, education reform, technical training, power partnerships, health access, rural roads, digital jobs, and the integration of Ogun’s Lagos-facing economy with its neglected hinterland.

The Sarafa manifesto gesture is therefore not cosmetic. It should become the beginning of a policy synthesis.

For now, what Ogun APC is witnessing may be called Pax Yayiana: not the silence of fear, but the calm produced by strategic accommodation. Yayi has not abolished ambition. He has given it a seat at the table. He has not erased rivals. He has begun to convert them into stakeholders. He has not merely accepted consensus. He has gone out to give it emotional legitimacy.
That is why his meetings with Iyabo Obasanjo, Sarafa Tunji Isola, GNI, Abiodun Akinlade and others matter. They are not footnotes. They are the architecture of the emerging order.

In a political culture where losers are often abandoned, Yayi is making the loser useful. In a system where consensus often produces rebellion, he is making it negotiable. In a state where succession has often been poisoned by ego, he is attempting to restore the collegiate ethic.

This is where the Awoist echo becomes strongest. Awolowo’s progressivism was not only about what government delivered. It was also about how politics was organised to make delivery possible. Discipline before development. Planning before performance. Consultation before consolidation.

Yayi’s phenomenon, at its best, suggests a return to that instinct. Not yet the full restoration of Awoism, but perhaps its quiet rehearsal. Yayi’s shuttle is therefore not ornamental. It is strategic, collegiate and deeply political.

If he sustains it, Ogun may enter 2027 with something rare: a ruling party less consumed by internal combustion, a historically excluded zone with a viable vehicle, and a progressive tradition being asked to prove that it can still produce order, delivery and disciplined succession.

That is the promise of Pax Yayiana.

(Somorin writes from Abeokuta)

 

 

By Flowerbudnews

The Senator representing Ogun West senatorial district, Sen. Olamilekan Yayi has hailed President Bola Tinubu’s policies on tax reform and subsidy removal, saying they have enabled Nigeria to save over 10 trillion naira annually.
Yayi made the statement on Saturday during his annual Thanksgiving service held in Ilaro, Ogun state.

Senator Yayi disclosed that before the removal of the subsidy, Nigeria was borrowing about N8 billion monthly to sustain the fuel subsidy, which amounted to not less than N10 trillion annually.

He affirmed that Nigeria is now on the right track, with a predictable economy, a thriving micro-economy, and efforts to improve the macro-economy.

“Nigeria is now getting it right, as the country can predict the kind of economy we are running, the micro economy is good, and we are working on the macro as well, assuring that in the near future Nigeria we will feel the impact of the reforms that have been introduced”.

Yayi highlighted the positive impact of the reforms, citing the Lagos-Calabar coastal road and Sokoto-Badagry highway projects as examples of infrastructure development that would boost Nigeria’s economic strength.

He commended President Tinubu for his efforts in implementing these reforms, saying they would build a new Nigeria that works for everyone.

“I believe that in the near future, Nigeria will feel the impact of all the beautiful reforms that have been introduced by the president. And also in the area of infrastructure, he has done excellently well, and we have commended him at least for the Lagos-Calabar and the Sokoto Badagri road, that is building a new Nigeria, a Nigeria that works for everybody and a Nigeria that works for all”.

“I can tell you, the tax reform there is no doubt there is no crisis we are on the same page with the executive and I can tell you, by the time the implementation starts, what will exactly pass is what will be implemented and there have not been any amendments indirectly or directly, whatever amendments that happen are made in the national assembly. And we will only do those things that will promote the integrity of the national assembly and Nigeria as a whole so we are not working at the expense of everybody.”

He commended Governor Dapo Abiodun for his development project in the state, noting that the Gateway International Airport and Seaport have also given the Ogun state economy a boost.

Corroborating on the tax reform, the Minister for State Health, Hon. Iziaq Salako, explained that Nigeria is indeed experiencing positive changes, with no queues for fuel across the country as of January 3, 2026, and efforts to address insecurity are underway.

He affirmed that President Bola Tinubu’s policies are yielding results, with the economy expected to grow by 4.49% in 2026, and inflation easing to 12.94%.

“The president’s reforms, including tax harmonisation and removal of fuel subsidies, aim to boost revenue and efficiency. The new tax laws, despite controversy, are expected to increase government revenue and simplify compliance”

He challenged the critics and opposition parties to think of something else to discredit the current APC administration.

” The APC’s progressive policies have the support of many Nigerians, who are optimistic about the country’s future”.

While speaking on the theme of Thanksgiving “Gratitude that will raise endorsement” Rt Rev. Micheal Oluwarombi of the Cathedral Church of Christ admonished Yayi to urge to sustain partnership with God, recognise and pay attention to thanksgiving and to always acknowledge God.

He preached from the book of Luke chapter 3 and 1st Kings 3-15, stating that Yayi has been a good ambassador and public servant who has not spared his hand, encouraging him not to ever spare his hands.

He concluded that the key of his success is Thanksgiving, he should continue to be giving thanks to God.

 

(COMPILED & BROADCAST BY YAYI TEACHERS MEDIA)

 

By Flowerbudnews

ABEOKUTA – The Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial district, Senator Adeola Olamilekan Yayi has reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the development of Ota-Awori, citing its rapidly urbanizing and industrial status.

Senator Yayi has emphasized that Ota-Awori’s rapid urbanization and industrial growth necessitate proportionate infrastructure development.

Speaking at the annual Iganmode cultural festival, Senator Yayi highlighted his contributions to the area, including infrastructure projects, healthcare, education, and empowerment initiatives.

He noted that Ado Odo Ota Local Government Area (LGA) is a beneficiary of his efforts, with projects tailored to address its unique needs.

Yayi emphasized that Ota-Awori’s rapid urbanization and industrial growth necessitate proportionate infrastructure development, particularly in road construction, solar street lights, and healthcare.

He cited his facilitation of numerous projects, including 300 infrastructure initiatives, 115 road construction projects, and empowerment programs benefiting over 50,000 constituents.

The senator praised the Olota of Otta-Awori, His Royal Majesty, Oba Adeyemi Abdulkabir Obalanlege, for promoting cultural renaissance and peaceful community development.

He noted that if the cultural festival is properly harnessed and packaged, it would serve as catalysts for societal economic development.

He commended the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun for supporting tourism development through festivals, including the Iganmode Cultural Festival.

Adeola aligned his efforts with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renew Hope Agenda, emphasizing his commitment to complementing the governor’s initiatives and driving socio-economic growth in Ogun West Senatorial District.

“Let me use this occasion to once again reiterate that in all ways possible that I will continue to support our cultural development particularly when it encourages tourism development and ultimately socio-economic development.

“I am aware that prior to this grand finale day some cultural and masquerade display has taken place. I have no doubt that when properly harnessed and packaged, aspects of our culture and fashion inclinations are catalysts to societal economic development.

“Let me salute our dear Governor, His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun CON, for his support for tourism development through promotion of different festivals in the state with the notable ones being the Ojude Oba Festival, Oronna Ilaro Festival, the Lisabi Festival, Iganmode Festival and Akesan Day celebration among several others.

“I am sure that His Excellency’s support is targeted at a holistic development of all aspects of our state. I am aware that the governor’s pro-active policy in the primary areas of security is responsible for a violence- free- state and drastic reduction in criminal activities.

“I also commend our governor for the numerous construction projects in the area of roads, hospitals and educational institutions across the state with a flagship project in the area of aviation through the construction and commissioning of the Gateway Cargo Airport at Iperu.

“On my part, I have attracted numerous development projects to complement the good work of the governor in the state in my senatorial district and beyond in the area of road construction, health care, educational institutions, security and empowerment.

“In over two years, I have facilitated the completion of about 300 infrastructure projects. These includes over 115 road construction projects, construction of 30 School buildings, 32 Primary Health Care Centres, 25 modern markets, 13 Town Halls, 10 ICT Centres, 2 Intensive Care Units, 2 Libraries and 8 Police Stations.

“Other facilitated projects include donation and installation of over 200 Electric Transformers, 250 Solar Street Light Projects of some 26,000 poles and personal commitment to repair and upgrade 10 major electric infrastructures affecting about 100 communities in perennial and months long black out in Ogun West and beyond. Work has since started on these repairs and upgrade Ado Odo Ota LGA is a beneficiary.

“I have also facilitated and empowered over 50, 000 constituents with skill acquisition training and equipments as well as cash grants. In addition, 15,000 Market Men and Women were given cash grants ranging from N25,000 to N50,000 while about 6000 farmers benefited from farm inputs and machineries including tractors.

“Over 4500 tertiary institution students have benefitted from scholarships and bursaries of sums ranging from N100,000 to N200,000. Over 1000 students of secondary schools have also benefited from my facilitated laptops programme.

“Let me place it on record that my development projects in Ado Odo Ota LGA is proportionate to it rapidly urbanizing and industrial status that requires many infrastructures particularly in the area of road construction, solar street lights, healthcare and other energy related projects. I will continue to complement the good works of our dear governor in the interest of our people and in line with the Renew Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tunubu, GCFR.”

 

(OW-GPAG

CAUCUS 7202

BROADCAST BY YAYI TEACHERS MEDIA)

(Senator Olamilekan Adeola (YAYI)

 

(Senator Adeola contributing to motion on high air fares)

 

Contributing to the motion on exhorbitant air fares, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (YAYI) expressed deep concern over the sudden and alarming increase in airfares across the country.

He stated:
“Mr. President, the solution to this quagmire we find ourselves in regarding the sudden rise in aviation ticket prices is to bring all relevant stakeholders to the table.”

Reacting to points earlier raised by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Senator Adeola acknowledged the issue of spare parts but emphasized that Nigerians should not be made to bear the burden of poor operational decisions by airline operators.

“It is not Nigerians who asked any airline operator to purchase aircraft that are over 30 or 40 years old. Some of these planes are obsolete.”

Interjecting, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, noted humorously that some aircraft in operation were as old as 59 years, a remark Senator Adeola affirmed.

Senator Adeola further identified critical factors that weaken the justification for the airfare hike:

1. No Corresponding Increase in Aviation Fuel or Taxes
He noted that there has been no recent increase in aviation fuel prices or statutory charges by the Federal Airports Authority or relevant agencies that would justify the sharp rise in fares.

2. Foreign Exchange Intervention
Senator Adeola recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has, in the past and even presently, provided intervention measures, concessions, and preferential rates to airline operators.

“Given these facts, Mr. President, there is an urgent need to summon all relevant stakeholders and confront these issues squarely.”

He therefore moved that:

The Senate condemns the sudden and abysmal increase in airfares, and

All relevant stakeholders in the aviation sector, including the Minister of Aviation, be urgently invited to appear before the Senate to explain and address the rising cost of air travel in Nigeria.

The motion was thereafter put forward for consideration and secondment.

“The motion was put to a voice vote and passed”

OW–GPAG

CAUCUS 7202

Compiled & Broadcast by YAYI Teachers Media

 

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About Flowerbudnews
Established by Hon.  Biola Lawal, a former Acting Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), FLOWERBUDNEWS is a consortium of active veteran journalists, experienced Multimedia broadcast experts and image makers.

We are drawn from both public and private  sectors of Nigeria’s media Industry with a common  determination to enhance the practice of responsible journalism..

Lawal, on his part, is also a former Honourable Commissioner for Information,Youth, Sports and Culture of Osun state, his home state.

Biola Lawal had also successfully served two tenures as Press Secretary to the ECOMOG Force Commander in Liberia during the Liberian and Sierra Leone Civil wars. He was an outstanding NAN Defence and War Correspondent for many years.

The retired NAN Acting Boss holds the honour of being the only journalist that served two terms on the ECOMOG international assignment due to his high professionalism and decency.

He is a Co-Author of the book; ECOMOG, A BOLD ATTEMPT AT REGIONAL PEACEKEEPING! Edited Mrs Magaret Voght.  The book remains the most. factual, detailed and authentic book on the ECOWAS sponsored ECOMOG Military operation.

(*Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola YAYI*)

 

 

By Kunle Somorin

(Repackaged by *Prof Abdulwahid Ajibola-OMOLUABI*,  Convener OMOLUABI for YAYI)

(*Prof Abdulwahid Ajibola OMOLUABI writes from Modele’s compound, Ijaye-Kummi, Abeokuta South Local Government, Ogun State*)

For nearly half a century, Ogun State has stood as a federation of Yoruba subgroups – Egba, Ijebu, Remo and Yewa. Yet one fact remains: since 1976, Yewa has never produced a governor. Equity – affirmed by the Nigerian Constitution and Yoruba custom – demands that no part of a polity be permanently excluded from its highest offices.

The late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, foresaw this imbalance and urged that Yewa should produce the next governor of Ogun State. His prognosis carries truth to its destination. Democracy without fairness descends into exclusion by another name.

 

Against this backdrop, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi) emerges not as a mere aspirant but as a corrective to historical imbalance – a moral and democratic necessity. Attempts to weaponise genealogy – casting him as an outsider – have now met their answer. Yoruba wisdom cautions: Àlejò kì í mọ ìtàn ilé – a stranger cannot know the full story of the house. That story has been affirmed by those who keep it, and by the institutions that preserve lineage and belonging. As a Yoruba saying reminds us, ìrò lè rìn pẹ́, òtítọ́ ní í dé l’ẹ́yìn – falsehood may travel far, but truth arrives all the same.

In Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, the Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler, publicly affirmed Adeola as a son of Yewa. Indeed, Adeola holds the traditional title of Aremo (prime son) of Yewaland, underscoring a lineage rooted in place and custom. The maternal seal followed. At Kemta Day the previous Sunday, Adeola declared: “Ilu iya mi ni mo wa yi. Emi omo Abibat Olasumbo, omo Akinola Baba Pupa from Kemta Odutolu.” The Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, then added a defining pronouncement: “Kemta ti fun wa ni Governor!” In Yoruba cosmology, kings are custodians of heritage; their declarations carry authority. Agbà kì í wà l’ọjà, kí orí ọmọdé tuntun wó – elders do not stand by while a child’s head is misshapen. To question Adeola’s indigeneity now is, effectively, to challenge the crowns.

Constitutionally, a governorship candidate must be an indigene. Nigerian courts often consider attestations by traditional rulers when questions of lineage arise, recognising that in matters of ancestry, custodians of custom provide important context. With these royal affirmations, the central question – indigeneship – can reasonably be regarded as resolved. Eligibility is clear. Whether Yewa or Egba, count Senator Adeola a bona fide candidate. A kì í fi ẹ̀tẹ̀ sílẹ̀ pa lápálápá – one does not abandon leprosy to treat ringworm. The debate must now shift from ancestry to governance.

On that score, Adeola’s record is measurable and visible across all three senatorial districts of Ogun State. He has facilitated over 270 infrastructure projects across Ogun West alone; empowered 15,000 market men and women with cash grants; trained thousands in entrepreneurship; and supported over 5,000 students through a Scholarship and Bursary Board. He helped reopen the Ikenne–Ilishan road, a corridor associated with the Awolowo era, long overdue for rehabilitation, and donated 102 transformers serving 435 communities. In Sagamu, youths point to empowerment schemes; in Ifo, traders speak of solar-lit markets; in Abeokuta, students recall scholarships; in Yewa, elders reference roads linking their villages. These are not promises; they are monuments. The works that touch daily life are the truest testimonials across the three senatorial districts.

Politically, the Egba Lokan sentiment has broadened into a wider call for justice, grounded in the ethos of balance and inclusion. This call aligns with the current profile of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, a son of Yewa with an Egba mother. High Chief Bode Mustapha, the Osi of Egbaland, has publicly commended Adeola’s service and described him as highly qualified among the field of contenders in terms of public service records. One voter captured governance’s essence in practical terms: the road he built reduced her car repair costs. Adeola’s dual heritage – paternally Yewa, maternally Egba – is a bridge, not a burden. Tí kì í ṣe ti bàbá ẹni, ó lè ṣe ti ìyá ẹni – what is not of one’s father may be of one’s mother. For advocates of the Egba Lokan agenda, this is a conundrum that requires wisdom. Agbájọ ọwọ́ la fi n s’ọ̀yà; ọwọ́ kan kì í gb’ẹrù d’órí – it takes joined hands to lift a load. In a state sometimes strained by sub-ethnic rivalry, such a bridge can steady the polity.

Legitimacy, philosophers remind us, is earned. Aristotle wrote: “The good ruler is not he who is born to rule, but he who rules well.” Yoruba thought echoes this in omolúàbí – honour, responsibility and service. Ìwà l’ẹwà – character is beauty. Adeola’s record is his manifesto; his projects are his pledges in brick and mortar, in kilowatts and scholarships. The question of origins is closed by law and custom. The campaign must now be fought on competence, character and outcomes.

(*Prof Abdulwahid Ajibola OMOLUABI writes from Modele’s compound, Ijaye-Kummi, Abeokuta South Local Government, Ogun State*)

History also counsels balance. Since 1976, Ogun’s leadership has passed from Olabisi Onabanjo (Ijebu), through periods of military rule, to Olusegun Osoba (Egba), Gbenga Daniel (Remo), Ibikunle Amosun (Egba) and now Dapo Abiodun (Remo). Yewa’s omission is glaring. The spirit of federal character – understood as an ethic of inclusion and fair representation – reminds us that cohesion is strengthened when all components see themselves in leadership. When law, custom and conscience converge, the argument is unassailable: justice demands that Yewa should have its turn.

Service-delivery indicators reinforce the case. In numerous town halls and community meetings, stakeholders point to reopened roads, restored power, improved market lighting, bursaries and training programmes that have equipped young people to start small enterprises.

These are lived realities, not abstractions. As policy moves from spreadsheet to street, citizens measure leadership by the bridges they cross, the lights that stay on and the opportunities that open. The test of governance is not rhetoric but results – how many lives are tangibly improved through would‑be leaders’ interventions.

It is only fair to acknowledge that Yewa/Awori sons and daughters have every right to aspire to the governorship of Ogun State, even as I acknowledge Yayi’s edge. I do not consider any aspirant a footnote. Each is a chapter in this long‑drawn struggle that has marginalised people of Yewa/Awori origin. Over the years, names such as Gboyega Isiaka, Abiodun Akinlade, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Biyi Otegbeye and others have surfaced – each carrying the hopes of their people. Many observers argue that the seat has eluded Yewa not for lack of talent or ambition, but for want of unity and a common front. Fragmentation, multiple candidacies and internal rivalries have, at times, diluted the collective claim. The lesson is clear: a house divided against itself cannot stand. The right to contend is sacrosanct, but it is best exercised with caution, dignity and a commitment to the larger cause of Yewa’s long‑awaited turn.

If Senator Adeola has been deemed worthy to sit in the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly, where he has distinguished himself with tangible service and verifiable delivery, then it follows by both logic and justice that he is equally qualified to occupy the Governor’s Office at Oke Mosan. The Constitution does not prescribe a lesser standard for the Senate than for the governorship; indeed, both demand competence, integrity and commitment to the people. Having facilitated infrastructure, empowered communities, and touched thousands of lives through scholarships and social programmes, he has already demonstrated the capacity to translate vision into dividends of democracy. To deny him the gubernatorial ticket after such a record would be to contradict both law and custom, and to deprive Ogun State of a tested hand whose service has spoken louder than rhetoric.

Within this context, the emergence of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola should be seen not as a threat but as an opportunity. If he is qualified to be a senator and has delivered verifiable dividends of democracy – roads, scholarships, empowerment and infrastructure – what principle would justify denying him a fair contest for the gubernatorial ticket? The crowns have spoken, the Constitution is satisfied and his record is manifest. What remains is for all aspirants to embrace consensus where possible, coalition where necessary and civility at all times. Campaigns should elevate issues, not inflame identities; they should test plans, not impugn persons. A race anchored on programmes, capacity and probity will serve Ogun better than one framed by whispers of ancestry.

The road to 2027 will be defined by three questions that every contender must answer plainly. First, what is your plan to accelerate inclusive growth across Ogun’s three senatorial districts – industrial corridors, agribusiness value chains, urban renewal and rural connectivity alike? Second, how will you deliver reliable power, water, primary healthcare and basic education to communities that have waited too long? Third, what is your approach to youth employment – skills, finance and markets – so that entrepreneurship is not a slogan but a pathway? On these questions, Adeola’s portfolio of projects provides an opening bid. Others should place their records alongside his and let the people compare, line by line.

Good politics is, at heart, good governance. It listens, learns and builds. It makes room for difference without turning difference into division. It honours tradition without becoming captive to nostalgia. It remembers that in a republic, leadership is stewardship: those who seek the people’s mandate must show the people’s returns. As the saying goes, ohun tí a bá fi ọwọ́ ṣe, kì í bà ẹnìkan lórí – the work of one’s hands vindicates. In a competitive field, the voters will look for what is concrete and measurable.

The argument, then, is complete. Indigeneity has been addressed in law and affirmed by custom. The historical omission of Yewa has been acknowledged by monarchs and widely recognised in public discourse. The service record in question is tangible and verifiable. The Constitution demands fairness; Yoruba tradition demands balance; democracy demands justice. All three converge on a simple conclusion: it is Yewa’s turn. And if the race is to be run on competence, delivery and character, Adeola enters it with a record that can be examined without fear or favour.

For now, the crowns have spoken. History calls. Let the campaign begin. In that campaign, one name stands – not as a slogan, but as a standard; not as a whisper, but as a monument; not as a claimant, but as a custodian. Yayi.

By

 

The listed projects for execution include:

*Reactivation of Ilaro to Ibese 33KV Overhead Lines

*Reactivation of Ibese to Dangote 33KV Overhead Lines

*Reactivation of (Dangote) Ibese to Joga 33KV Overhead Lines

*Reactivation of Isaga Junction to Ibara Orile and Isaga 33KV Overhead Lines

*Reactivation of (Dangote) Ibese to Igbogila 33KV Overhead Lines (118 spans)

*Reactivation of Igbogila to Ayetoro 33KV Overhead Lines

*Reactivation of Igbogila to Ijoun 33KV Overhead Lines

*Reactivation of 33KV Overhead Lines from Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro to Oja Odan through Ebute Igbooro (331 spans)

*Construction of a dedicated 33KV feeder to Ilaro Township from Papalanto Transmission Station

*Construction of Owode Feeder from Ota Transmission Station to Owode River Bridge, including maintenance works along:

*Idiroko – Ipokia – Akere – Yewa

*Aferiku Town, Tube – Ode Pata – Agada – Igua

*Agosasa – Bode Ase – Idosemo – Idosa – Ijofin

*Oke-Odan – Eyeknase Isagbo – Oke Ijako – Owo

*Ita Atan – Ilase Junction

*Owode ,Ajilete Inside – Ihumbo ifoyintedo, Alari – Idiroko

*Iwoye Owode

*Agosasa – Tube – Igude

*Supply and Installation of 500KVA 11/0.415KV Transformer at Onikoko, Abeokuta

*Supply and Installation of 500KVA 11/0.415KV Transformer at Kings Dominium Street, Off Kuforiji Olubi Road, Saraki Area, Adigbe, Abeokuta

*YAYI UNSTOPPABLE*
*YAYI PHENOMENAL*