…As Osoba, Daniel, Amosun, Abiodun, Yayi Top List

The Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has unveiled its 2027 Governorship Campaign Council, bringing together the state’s major political heavyweights in a formidable campaign structure ahead of the election.

Former Governor and APC chieftain, Chief Olusegun Osoba, former governors Senator Gbenga Daniel and Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Governor Dapo Abiodun and the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, are among the prominent political leaders occupying strategic positions in the council.

The composition, which cuts across the party’s major political blocs and brings together experienced campaigners, strategists and grassroots mobilisers, signals a concerted effort by the APC to consolidate its ranks and build a coordinated statewide machinery for the 2027 contest.

According to the organogram, Osoba is listed as Grand Patron, while Daniel and Amosun are Deputy Grand Patrons. Governor Abiodun serves as Chairman of the Campaign Council, with Adeola as Co-Chairman.

Other top leaders in the council include Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, who will serve as Assistant Grand Patron; Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele and Kudirat Abiodun Balogun as Deputy Chairmen; while Chief Bode Mustapha, Chief Derin Adebiyi and Dr. Sikirulahi Ogundele will serve as Assistant Chairmen.

Senator Lekan Mustapha will serve as Director General of the Campaign Council, placing him at the centre of the day-to-day coordination and implementation of the party’s statewide campaign. Mustapha brings considerable campaign experience to the assignment, having previously served as Director General of Governor Abiodun’s successful re-election campaign in 2023.

Other leading figures in the council include Evangelist Abiodun Sanyaolu, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, and Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, who are among those appointed as Deputy Campaign Directors General and Vice Campaign Directors General, alongside other senior party leaders and stakeholders.

The campaign structure also assigns key responsibilities to experienced political figures across planning, strategy, mobilisation, special duties and communications.

Hon. Kayode Oladele will serve as Chairman of the Planning Committee, placing the former federal lawmaker and seasoned political strategist in charge of a key component of the campaign’s planning architecture.

Former Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Tunji Egbetokun, will serve as Chairman of the Strategy Committee, while Hon. Babatunde Olaotan, Special Adviser to the Governor on Government House and General Services, will serve as Chairman of the Mobilisation Committee, with responsibility for driving grassroots engagement and voter mobilisation across the state.

The State APC Organising Secretary, Hon. Yemi Adelani, will serve as Chairman of the Committee on Special Duties, further strengthening the operational arm of the campaign structure.

The media and publicity machinery will be led by Chief Kayode Odunaro, with Mr. Kayode Akinmade serving as Deputy Chairman, placing them at the centre of the campaign’s messaging, publicity and media engagement.

The council’s operational leadership extends across the three senatorial districts, with Deputy and Vice Campaign Directors General as well as Assistant Directors General assigned responsibilities in Ogun East, Ogun Central and Ogun West.

The organogram indicates that the campaign machinery will extend through the three senatorial districts, federal and state constituencies, local governments, wards and polling units, creating a coordinated chain of operations from the state leadership to the grassroots.

It also provides dedicated committees for finance and budget, security, fundraising, women affairs, transportation, reconciliation, welfare, public communication, medical services, youth and student engagement, digital innovation, protocol and traditional and religious affairs.

Beyond the size of the campaign machinery, however, the composition of the council is significant for the message of political unity it sends within the Ogun APC. By bringing Osoba, Daniel, Amosun, Abiodun and Adeola into the same campaign structure, the party appears determined to close ranks and harness the political networks, experience and grassroots structures associated with its leading figures.

The council also draws its membership from Ogun East, Ogun Central and Ogun West, giving the campaign a structure that cuts across senatorial boundaries and accommodates different generations and tendencies within the party. The arrangement is expected to provide a common platform for party leaders and their supporters to work towards the same electoral objective.

The prominent roles assigned to Osoba, Daniel and Amosun alongside Abiodun and Adeola are particularly significant. All are major figures in the state’s political history, with established networks and followership. Their convergence under one campaign council therefore gives the APC an opportunity to present a united front and mobilise its political strength across the state behind Adeola’s governorship bid.

With Governor Abiodun chairing the council and Adeola serving as Co-Chairman, the structure also seeks to establish continuity between the incumbent APC administration and the party’s 2027 campaign while providing roles for other influential leaders within the wider party family.

The council’s extensive grassroots structure is designed to translate that unity at the leadership level into coordinated mobilisation across the state, extending through senatorial districts, constituencies, local governments, wards and polling units.

With the unveiling of the council, the Ogun APC has consequently moved beyond simply assembling a campaign organisation. It has put forward a political coalition bringing together its major leaders, experienced campaign hands, strategists, administrators, media professionals and grassroots operators under a common electoral platform.