ABEOKUTA — The Chairman of the Planning Committee for the Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential and Governorship Campaign Council, Hon. Kayode Oladele, has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of “moving the goalpost” in its ongoing political offensive against Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
Oladele made the assertions while responding to recent public statements by Mrs. Folake Marcus-Bello, a leading PDP figure in the state. He noted that the opposition’s narrative had conveniently shifted from challenging Senator Adeola’s Ogun indigeneship to probing his past employment history, old electoral records, and personal finances.
According to the APC chieftain, the shifting line of attack reflects the PDP’s growing frustration and inability to match Adeola’s expanding statewide appeal and robust grassroots structure across the state.
He noted that what began as an Ogun West senatorial aspiration has since evolved into a powerful statewide movement. He added that the opposition, intimidated by Yayi’s networks spanning local governments, wards, and communities, has resorted to making personal attacks the centerpiece of its campaign.
Reacting directly to Marcus-Bello’s demands for Adeola to produce decades-old employment records and his initial INEC nomination forms from his time in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Oladele described her statements as part of an “ever-changing political script.”
He maintained that the PDP abandoned its earlier indigeneship narrative only after it “hit a brick wall and failed to resonate with the electorate.” He questioned what new angle the opposition would manufacture next once the current financial and employment queries fall flat.
Oladele cautioned Ogun State voters to pay close attention to the opposition’s political pattern, arguing that politics should not be reduced to an endless fishing expedition where fresh allegations are introduced whenever previous claims fail to gain traction.
He challenged those making allegations to stop constantly shifting their focus—from ancestry to employment, INEC filings, and finances—and instead produce verifiable evidence to back up their claims.
Furthermore, Oladele accused the PDP leadership of allowing its fixation on Senator Adeola to completely overshadow its own campaign message and developmental vision for the state ahead of the 2027 elections.
He argued that whenever the PDP is asked about its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, and his specific plans for Ogun State, the conversation inevitably drifts back to Adeola, exposing what he called a severe “ideas deficit” within the opposition fold.
Oladele stressed that defining a gubernatorial campaign purely by opposition to Yayi, rather than presenting a distinct manifesto, highlights the deep political dilemma confronting the PDP.
He emphasized that Senator Adeola cannot simultaneously serve as the opposition’s opponent, its manifesto, and the principal subject of its entire campaign strategy, adding that a governorship race should fundamentally be a contest between competing visions.
Oladele reiterated that the APC is prepared to campaign aggressively across every nook and cranny of Ogun State, including areas traditionally considered PDP strongholds.
He revealed that the APC campaign would vigorously contest for votes even in Ladi Adebutu’s immediate ward and polling unit, confident that voters will weigh the visible records, infrastructure projects, and empowerment programs of both sides before casting their ballots.
Concluding his statement, Oladele declared that Adeola’s candidacy has transcended individual ambition, morphing into a symbol for Ogun West’s historic quest for political representation within a broader statewide alliance.
”You can fight a candidate, but you cannot fight an idea whose time has come,” Oladele said, maintaining that the movement represented by Yayi is bigger than the man himself and that Ogun voters will deliver the final verdict at the polls.
