Yayi Road to Ogun Government House Gets More Bumpy - THISDAYLIVE

This is the question on the lips of many in Ogun State. The answer may not yet be yes, though the warning lights are unmistakably flashing.

For a man who has already secured the ticket for the All Progressives Congress, the real battle for the ultimate prize has only just begun. Winning the nomination was one thing; convincing a complicated, politically sophisticated and fiercely competitive Ogun electorate to hand him the keys to Ogun State government house is another.

Yayi has the machinery, the connections and the backing of powerful political figures. But none of those, on election day, is a substitute for votes.

And that is where the stakes become much higher.

If the ancestry controversy persists, if Ogun’s political blocs fail to align behind him, and if  Ladi Adebutu succeeds in turning the opposition into a broad coalition, what currently looks like a manageable political irritation could become a serious electoral vulnerability.

For Adebutu, the assignment is straightforward: keep the questions alive, deepen the cracks and make Yayi’s perceived strengths look like liabilities.

For Yayi, the challenge is considerably harder: he must silence the doubts, consolidate Ogun West, win over the undecided and persuade the rest of Ogun that he is not merely a candidate with powerful friends, but a governor for the entire state.

Yayi remains the man to beat, but 2027 is no longer looking like his coronation. It is looking like his greatest political examination yet. And if he stumbles, the consequences will go beyond losing an election. It could redefine his standing in Ogun politics for years to come.

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