KAYODE ODUNARO
Senator Solomon Adeola representing the people of Ogun West senatorial district since June 13, 2023 represents many positive things to many that knows. From Lagos to Ogun State and to the National Assembly, where he has served in both the Green and Red Chambers as a ranking legislator, this man popularly called ‘Yayi’ by his admirers across board, comes across as a well-intentioned Nigerian ready to do all in his capacity for all opportune to come across him. His doings for persons have often been destiny changing and testimonies abounds in the public domain.
But for majority of people of his present senatorial district and indeed Ogun State and elsewhere, Yayi is nothing but God sent to cause a paradigm shift for the utmost good of the majority of the people. Many are in wonder at his level of accomplishments using his position for the good of the people in two years as a senator of Ogun West. As it is, he has overfulfilled all his campaign promises for the generality of the people through concise and cognate facilitations of massive infrastructural projects as well as mega empowerment that usually goes viral on social media platforms in addition to efficiently performing his constitutional roles as a law maker and overseer.
For the records Senator Adeola in two years has sponsored 10 bills. This is among the highest in the category of first eleven among the 109 members of the Senate. One of the bills for the upgrade of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro to a University of Technology, Ilaro, has been passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and signed into an Act of the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Another bill to amend the over 50 years old Chartered Institute of Accountants in Nigeria, ICAN, Act, has passed second reading and public hearing and is awaiting passage by the Senate while a bill for the establishment of Federal College of Geological and Cement Studies Iselu, Yewa North has passed second reading and is ready for public hearing.
On record also, Senator Adeola has moved 5 motions that were passed into Senate resolutions dealing with matters of local and national issues. One of such was the motion on the allegation against the Senate and the Presidency on 2024 Appropriation Act that led to a resolution briefly suspending Senator Abdul Ningi for about a month. Another was the re-opening of petrol stations along international border areas that is now being implemented to alleviate the hardship of Nigerians along borders areas.
But for the people of Ogun West Senatorial District and elsewhere in Ogun State, it is in the area of infrastructure development of great magnitude and multi-billion-naira expenditure that the enduring impact of Yayi are gleefully acknowledged. Some of these projects are correcting deteriorations of projects abandoned since execution in the time of late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo! As at two years in office as senator of Ogun West, Yayi has completed over 250 infrastructural projects that are in use across the 5 LGAs of Ado-Odo-Ota, Ipokia, Yewa South, Yewa North and Imeko Afon and other places in Ogun State. These projects that cannot be listed here for brevity were listed in the programmes of events for individual LGAs when the senator had his Second Townhall Meeting and Empowerment Programme in late April 2025. These projects in their numbers in each of the 5 LGAs and elsewhere cut across construction of roads and bridges, school buildings, ICT Centres, healthcare facilities, markets, Police Stations, Townhalls, supply of transformers and thousands of solar street lights.
At present, several other new projects are in various stages of completion while work has just commenced on others like the critical Rounda-Olorunda- Imeko Road abandoned for years in a state of collapse and the 107 Kilometer Ilara-Ilase Road cutting across 4 out of 5 LGAs and over 20 major communities of the senatorial district. One may want to agree with some observers that notes poignantly that Ogun West in the last two years of Senator Adeola has had more variegated and evenly spread infrastructure development projects than it did through all administrations since the creation of the state almost 50 years ago! That is how exceptional and overfulfilling of campaign promises that Senator Adeola has brought to bear as a demonstration of good governance under a democracy and promises of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Again, Senator Adeola has ensured personal impact and human resource development in Ogun West and beyond in the last two years in the form of facilitation of mega empowerment programmes that had touched no fewer than 40,0000 constituents directly. A resolute believer in touching lives directly, these facilitations often takes the form of skills acquisition trainings for women and youths and subsequent empowerment for with multi-million-naira worth equipment and cash grants to start income generating self- employment. At the second town hall meeting and empowerment programme, some of the trainees in leather goods turned out with products that led Senator Adeola to promise the establishment of a complex dedicated solely for leather products in the senatorial district. For follow ups and future assistance, a record of all beneficiaries of the Senator’s empowerment are captured in programme brochure as well as senatorial data base.
The senator has also facilitated cash grants for market women to assist them in their trades. During the first edition of the programme 5,000 women benefitted to the tune of N25,000 each with the money paid directly into their accounts. The second edition saw additional 10,0000 women benefitting from a N50,000 grant that extended to women in other markets in Ogun State beyond Ogun West Senatorial District. Similarly, 6000 farmers in clusters and individually were empowered with tractors, farm implements, improved seedlings and other inputs as well as cash grants.
Also, beyond the construction of school buildings that had increased classrooms by over 200, Senator Adeola scholarship and bursary awards in tertiary institutions to the tune N200,000 and N100,000 respectively, has so far benefitted about 5,000 undergraduates. Tertiary institutions were also beneficiaries of buses to ease transportation for undergraduates across Ogun State. On religious level, Senator Adeola continues with goodwill gestures of massive gifts during festivities as well as sponsorship of Muslims and Christians pilgrims to Holy Lands. This year alone about 190 Muslim pilgrims went to Hajj with almost equal numbers of Christians going to Jerusalem in Israel.
There is doubt that in the last two years as senator representing Ogun West, Senator Adeola has more than fulfilled all items on his campaign manifesto and promises he made while seeking office. In relative terms to others elsewhere and his predecessors who may have delivered effective representation for their constituents, Senator Adeola representation is nothing short of exceptional from all perspective for a law maker. It is this exceptionalism in showing what good governance should look like that has made him the talk of the town across Ogun State with pleas for him to replicate same across Ogun State by vying for the Number 1 seat of governor. He may yet accede to such well-intentioned call in the months ahead. The remaining years of his representation promises to be more exceptional.
– Chief Kayode Odunaro
kayodunaro@hotmail.com
write from Alaagba Compound, Ilaro, Yewa South LGA, Ogun State.