A former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and Convener of the P-BAT Academics and Professionals Group, Prof. Yemi Oke (SAN), has described ongoing suggestions that Ogun State’s governorship should remain in Ogun East Senatorial District beyond 2027 as illogical and unacceptable.
Oke made the assertion in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday, where he criticised what he termed attempts by some political actors to retain power within the same district after the expiration of the tenure of the current administration.
The senior advocate argued that it would be unfair for another indigene of Iperu in Ogun East to succeed the incumbent governor, insisting that such a move would amount to extending the district’s hold on power for a total of 16 years.
He said, “What will never happen is for any decent Egba person to consider or work to give it to another Iperu man after the misfit of the outgoing current leadership.”
According to him, attempts to present any prospective candidate from the area under a different political or geographical identity were merely designed to disguise a plan to retain power within the same axis.
“The coloration of Odogbolu is for the fools and the uninformed. It is simply an attempt to give us another eight years through another Iperu man, making a total of 16 years in Iperu,” he stated.
Oke maintained that while he had no objection to the aspirations of any individual, Ogun East should not continue to produce the state’s governor after 2027.
He said, “Even if it is given to an Ijebu person as against Remo, shifting the goalpost is unwise and illogical. In my considered view, it is mindless of those proposing Ogun State power to remain in the same Ogun East Senatorial District.”
The legal scholar further stated that the Egba and Yewa people would not support any arrangement that would return power to the same zone, stressing that political equity and fairness should guide the state’s succession process.
“What will never happen is to assume that the Egba and Yewa people will be unwise enough to ever consider returning it to the same zone,” he added.
Speaking on the 2027 general elections, Oke expressed confidence in the electoral strength of President Bola Tinubu and Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
“If they choose a free and fair election, Tinubu and Yayi will win as President and Governor respectively. In the unlikely event that they opt for a not-too-fair contest, Tinubu and Yayi will still win and defeat them hands down,” he said.
