Democracy all over the world is a game of numbers. So, it is the desire of every political party or politician to have the attention of the greatest number of the electorate. The momentum for the 2027 general elections is increasing by the day and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, who is seeking re-election, will want to win in 2027 and win with massive vote difference across all the Wards, Local Government Areas, Senatorial Districts and the 36 States including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Following the gale of defections, the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, has received many serving and former Governors and hopefully that movement of political bigwigs will translate to attraction of more votes to the party and their candidates.
Having looked at the chances of the All Progressives Congress across Senatorial Districts and States in previous articles, we shifted focus to Ogun State. First, we looked at Ogun West. In Ogun West, we arrived at the conclusion that the All Progressives Congress will garner more votes in 2027 than in previous elections. The fact is simple; the Consensus Candidate, Senator Solomon Adeola Yayi, who will fly the Gubernatorial flag of the APC, is from Ogun West Senatorial District and they will want to vote massively for one of their own alongside his father-figure, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. And so, Ogun West will deliver massive votes in favour of the All Progressives Congress.
In Ogun Central Senatorial District, former Governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Otunba Muraina Olatunji Banjoko, Senator Shuaibu Afolabi Salisu and Senator Lanre Tejuoso are said to be locking horns over who will get the party’s nod for the ticket. But our findings showed that most of the stakeholders preferred Senator Lanre Tejuoso.
One of the stakeholders, who spoke to this medium in Kuto area of Abeokuta, maintained that it should interest us to note that since 1999 only three candidates in Ogun Central have grossed more than one hundred thousand votes and Senator Lanre Tejuoso is one of them. And if comes down to who will deliver for President Tinubu in 2027, then it should be the energetic Egba Prince, Lanre Tejuoso.
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He gave a comprehensive overview of the vote counts in Ogun Central Senatorial District since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, in the following table:
Year Candidate Party Votes
1999 Femi Okunronmu, AD 52,390
2003 Ibikunle Amosun PDP 111,120
2007 Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello PDP 56,312
2011 Olugbenga Onaolapo Obadara ACN 102,389
2015 Lanre Tejuoso APC 115,197
2019 Ibikunle Amosun APC 88,110
2023 Shuaibu Afolabi Salisu APC 96,759
The stakeholder stated that in the 2015 general election for the Ogun Central Senatorial District, Lanre Tejuoso of the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured 115,197 votes, defeating his closest rival, Abisola Sodipo-Clark of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 30,036 votes. The incumbent senator at the time, Olugbenga Onaolapo Obadara, representing the Social Democratic Party (SDP), received 15,124 votes .
As seen from the table, Lanre Tejuoso’s 2015 vote count of 115,197 remains the highest ever secured in a general election in the Ogun Central Senatorial District. So, among the contestants, Senator Lanre Tejuoso is seen as the one who will fly the flag of the All Progressives Congress with the capacity to attract more votes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Other stakeholders indicated their preference for Senator Tejuoso because of his outstanding performance as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and the different empowerment initiatives he organised in the Senatorial District. The fact that he is from a reputable and royal family is perceived as an added advantage.
Having looked at Ogun Central and their preference for respected Egba Prince, Senator Lanre Tejuoso, our next focus will be on Ogun East, where the current and former Governor are expected to battle it out for the APC ticket.