Details: Akinlade To Take Yayi’s Senatorial Seat

Fresh permutations within the Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have triggered renewed tension in Ogun West, as insiders hint at a quiet move to position Abiodun Akinlade for the senatorial seat to be vacated by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola.

Adeola, widely known as Yayi, has already been adopted as the party’s consensus gubernatorial candidate for the 2027 election, setting off a chain of political adjustments across the state.

But in what party sources describe as a “carefully managed compensation arrangement,” Akinlade—one of the governorship aspirants who stepped down in the lead-up to Yayi’s emergence—is now being tipped to clinch the Ogun West senatorial ticket, a move that is unsettling the delicate zoning balance in the region.

Ogun West’s political structure has long rested on a fragile understanding between the Ota and Yewa blocs, with both sides alternating control of key positions.

Under that arrangement, the emergence of a senatorial candidate from one axis typically cedes the top executive slot to the other.

However, both Adeola and Akinlade are widely identified with the Yewa axis, a development that has sparked concern among stakeholders who fear a disruption of the established order.

“There is an arrangement, and people are watching closely to see how it is respected,” a party source said,.adding “What is being done now is an attempt to reinterpret that understanding without completely breaking it.”

Insiders backing Akinlade, however, insist there is a political pathway to defuse the brewing tension.

According to multiple sources, his camp is advancing a narrative that traces his paternal roots to Ota, effectively recasting him as a legitimate representative of the axis.

“His ancestry is not in dispute,” another source familiar with the discussions asserted, insisting “On his father’s side, he is from Ota. That argument is central to the ongoing consultations.”

Despite that position, resistance is already mounting.

Influential voices within Ota are said to be pushing back strongly, insisting that only candidates with clear, uncontested roots in the area should occupy positions zoned to them.

“The sentiment in Ota is firm,” a stakeholder claimed, declaring “People want a true son of the soil, not a political interpretation of one.”

Before the latest twist, Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele had been widely projected as a leading contender for the seat.

A native of Ota, she had stepped down her own ambitions in support of Yayi’s governorship bid, a move many believed positioned her favourably within the zoning equation.

Her apparent sidelining is now adding another layer of intrigue to an already complex succession puzzle, as consultations intensify and competing interests jostle for advantage.

With the 2027 race gradually taking shape, party insiders say the coming months will test the APC’s ability to manage internal expectations without triggering deeper fractures in one of its most politically sensitive strongholds.