Who Is Advising Senator Yayi? Adeola’s Ogun 2027 Strategy Under Spotlight
By Akin Alade
As the battle for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election gathers momentum, one question deserves serious consideration within the camp of the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi: Who is advising the senator?
Adeola, an accomplished accountant and experienced legislator, currently represents Ogun West Senatorial District in the National Assembly. He previously represented Lagos West in the Senate and served in both the Lagos State House of Assembly and House of Representatives. In April 2026, Ogun APC adopted him as its consensus governorship candidate.
With such extensive political experience, many would expect his campaign to concentrate heavily on his legislative record, development agenda, party reconciliation and plans for Ogun State.
Instead, the political conversation has increasingly become entangled in controversies over ancestry, identity and the backgrounds of political opponents.
Recent political exchanges have reopened questions about Adeola’s own ancestry after criticisms directed at the family background of his major opponent, Hon. Ladi Adebutu. That is potentially dangerous political territory for a candidate whose own roots have repeatedly been questioned by opponents.
Adeola and his supporters maintain that he is of Yewa extraction. His published biography traces his father to the Pahayi area of Ilaro, while his stepmother recently publicly reaffirmed the family’s account that his biological parents had Ogun roots.
Opponents, however, continue to dispute that account.
Former Nigerian Ambassador Folake Marcus-Bello recently challenged Adeola to produce records relating to his employment history and previous electoral declarations. She also made allegations concerning what he declared as his state of origin during his years at The Guardian. Those claims have not been established as facts by the reporting reviewed for this article and have been disputed by Adeola’s political camp.
Adeola’s official biography states that he attended State Primary School, Alimosho, and Community Grammar School, Akowonjo, before studying Accounting at Ondo State Polytechnic, now Rufus Giwa Polytechnic. It also records that he worked for The Guardian Newspapers Limited for 12 years before continuing his accounting career.
Questions about the circumstances of his departure from The Guardian have circulated periodically in political discussions. An older report containing such allegations also carried a response from his media adviser, Kayode Odunaro, who said Adeola resigned to join another company and maintained that there was no record of his involvement in fraud or financial malpractice at the newspaper.
That distinction is important. Political allegations should not be presented as established facts without documentary evidence or an authoritative finding.
But strategically, the bigger question for Adeola may be whether an ancestry battle is where his campaign should be investing its political energy.
The Ogun APC candidate has a substantial political résumé to campaign on. He has served in different legislative chambers and currently represents Ogun West. His supporters can point to his legislative experience, constituency interventions and years in public office.
Why, then, allow the campaign to become dominated by arguments over who comes from where?
There is another issue demanding attention: party reconciliation.
Ogun politics has historically been shaped by powerful blocs and personalities, and two former governors remain particularly significant — Senator Gbenga Daniel and Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Daniel governed Ogun State for two terms between 2003 and 2011 and currently represents Ogun East in the Senate. Amosun succeeded him as governor, serving from 2011 to 2019, after previously and subsequently serving in the Senate.
Whatever the present political relationship between these leaders and the APC establishment, their years in government mean they developed political networks extending beyond their immediate constituencies.
There have already been attempts at reconciliation. In July 2026, Adeola and Amosun held a closed-door meeting after years of political differences, with both sides expressing readiness to work together for the APC.
That development suggests reconciliation is recognised within the party as important.
The situation involving Daniel also deserves careful political management. Earlier this year, tensions became public when the serving Ogun East senator was denied entry to an APC stakeholders’ meeting at which Governor Dapo Abiodun was endorsed for the Ogun East senatorial ticket.
For Adeola, therefore, the road to Oke-Mosan may require more than winning arguments on social media.
It may require bringing together competing tendencies within Ogun APC, reaching out to aggrieved stakeholders and ensuring that influential political structures across Ogun Central, Ogun East and Ogun West have reasons to work for the party’s governorship candidate.
Interestingly, Adeola himself appeared to recognise the dangers of political mudslinging earlier in 2026 when he appealed to his supporters to stop verbally attacking fellow APC governorship aspirants. He argued at the time that political competition should not degenerate into personal attacks.
That same principle could prove relevant as the general election campaign intensifies.
The central strategic question is therefore not whether Adeola can respond to attacks on his ancestry. Any candidate has the right to correct what he considers misinformation about his background.
The question is whether prolonged personal exchanges help him communicate what he intends to do differently as governor.
Ogun voters will ultimately make their choice based on whatever considerations they consider important. The campaign also provides an opportunity for candidates to address jobs, industrial development, infrastructure, education, healthcare, security, local government administration and the economic future of the state.
For Senator Adeola, the challenge is to decide what kind of campaign will define his bid for Government House.
Will it be dominated by ancestry disputes and personal exchanges, or will the APC candidate increasingly put his record, programme for government and efforts at party reconciliation at the centre of the contest?
As 2027 approaches, that is why the question continues to resonate:
Who is advising Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola?
