A former Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, Wale Adedayo, has predicted a major upset for the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 governorship election, insisting that the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Ladi Adebutu, will defeat the APC candidate, Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
Adedayo, who served as a local government chairman under the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun, made the assertion while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
He claimed that the APC had lost its grip on the electorate across the state and would be defeated at the polls.
“APC is gone in Ogun State,” Adedayo declared, arguing that political developments across the state were pointing towards what he described as “seismic changes” in favour of the PDP.
According to him, the opposition party has gained significant ground across Ogun’s 20 local government areas, while some political stakeholders, including members of the ruling party, were allegedly moving towards the PDP.
Adedayo described Adebutu as the candidate to beat, maintaining that the 2027 election would produce an outcome that many political observers might not anticipate.
He said, “We are not going to have any battle in Ogun State. We are talking about seismic changes, in terms of the fact that we are going to have an earthquake where people will move in the direction a lot of people may not expect.”
The former council chairman further predicted that while President Bola Tinubu could retain support in the state during the presidential contest, the PDP would dominate the governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly elections.
He said the political calculations in the state had changed significantly since the last election, claiming that the APC was losing support even in areas where it had previously enjoyed considerable strength.
Adedayo also questioned Adeola’s claim to Ogun State indigene status, alleging that the APC governorship candidate had no ancestral roots in the state.
He argued that candidates seeking political offices should be able to establish their ancestry and warned against what he described as false claims of indigene status.
On the issue of zoning, Adedayo said the Ijebu had supported candidates from the Yewa axis in previous elections and maintained that the political equation had now changed.
He said the Ijebus supported the Yewas during the 2011 and 2015 elections, arguing that the current situation justified support for Adebutu.
“We don’t have any problem with zoning. And that is why I said that in 2011, 2015 and on the line like that, we gave them our support,” he stated.
The former council chairman urged voters to scrutinise the backgrounds and records of the candidates before casting their ballots, stressing that an informed electorate was essential to democracy.
He also dismissed suggestions that the 2027 contest would be a violent political battle, saying the anticipated change would be achieved through the ballot box.
Adedayo further claimed that the PDP had made substantial gains across the state and insisted that the political landscape was now different from what obtained during the previous governorship election.
He recalled that Abiodun was defeated in his polling unit, ward, local government and senatorial district during the last election, describing the development as an indication of the changing political fortunes in Ogun State.
With the 2027 governorship contest expected to be closely fought, Adedayo maintained that the PDP was positioned to wrest power from the APC and install Adebutu as the next governor of Ogun State.