Ogun West Declaration: No Senator Had Served Two Terms In Ogun West

The fallouts of the declaration of Senator Solomon Adeola representing Lagos West in the Senate to contest in his home constituency of Ogun West last Wednesday has raised the political temperature of Ogun West and indeed Ogun State. 

The declaration has sent many political analysts to the drawing board with the aim of predicting who gets the ticket of parties and becomes eventual winner of the seat to represent the 5 Local Government areas that make up the Ogun West Senatorial District. 

So far, the ruling party in the state, the All Progressives Congress, APC, holds the aces in the race as the major aspirants in the race including the incumbent, Senator Tolu Odebiyi, Prince Gboyega Isiaka and Hon. Abiodun Akinlade, are all from the party with no notable name from all other parties as we speak. 

Investigation by P.M.EXPRESS revealed that the odd against the incumbent, Senator Odebiyi, are huge as not only is he at cross purpose with the incumbent Governor of the state, Prince Dapo Abiodun, following his alliance with Senator Ibikunle Amosun tendency of the party opposed to the incumbent, but he will be running against an established political tradition in Ogun West Senatorial District since the dawn of our nascent democracy in 1999. 

A source, who is a member of Ogun West Elder’s Forum, who will not want his name in print as he is not the spokesman of the forum, stated that it is an established tradition in Ogun West that no Senator had served more than a term in office in a way to give all sections of the district a sense of belonging. 

“Let me tell you that the chances of re-election of the incumbent is slim going by an established tradition beyond the issue of his opposition to the administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun. Since 1999, Ogun West had 6 senators including the incumbent, Senator Odebiyi and all his predecessors served only a term and never even attempted to recontest” the elder, a second republic legislator from the area stated. 

He said that all Ogun West senators beginning with Professor Afolabi Olabimtan(1999-2003), Senator Iyabo Anisulowo (2003-2007), Senator Kola Bajomo (2007-2011), Senator Akin Odunsi (2011-2015) and Senator Gbolahan Dada (2015-2019) served only one term of office adding he sees no way that Senator Odebiyi will be able to break the tradition. 

The former legislator stated that the same tradition is obtainable in the two other senatorial districts of the state namely Ogun Central and Ogun East, stressing that there has never been a senator who served two consecutive terms in the senate from those districts. 

“Only Senator Amosun and Senator Lekan Mustapha from Ogun Central and East respectively have broken the tradition of one term for Senators in Ogun State and they were only able to achieve that after leaving office for a period amounting to two terms” he stated. 

The tradition among other factors like ranking and party loyalty may have informed Senator Adeola heeding the call of his people in Ogun West to come back home for replication of his outstanding representation in Lagos West against the incumbent and others.