Senator Solomon Adeola Yayi, who currently represents Lagos West Senatorial District, is quickly becoming the most powerful and popular politician in Ogun State.
Adeola, who is now running for Ogun West in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has won the hearts of many.
From the Lagos State House of Assembly, where he represented the good people of Alimosho constituency 02 from 2003 to 2011, to the Federal House of Representatives in Abuja, and then becoming the Senator for Lagos West, Yayi, as he is affectionately known, has remained one of the country’s most experienced lawmakers.
Prior to the 2019 elections, Adeola, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, attempted to shift his political base to Ogun, where he was born, and committed significant resources, both human and financial, to the realization of his dream. This did not sit well with the then-governor, Ibikunle Amosun, who who saw it as afront to his political power.
According to Thisday’s Society Watch, Adeola was forced to abandon his ambition due to stiff opposition from Amosun, who allegedly used his closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari to sabotage the works of Solomon, whom he sees as a thorn in his flesh. In the end, Amosun resigned without being able to install his preferred successor, Adekunle Akinlade.
In the face of this development, Adeola staged an unprecedented comeback and won the ticket as the APC’s candidate in the Upper Chamber. To say that many political observers in the state were shocked is an understatement. He easily defeated the other candidates in his district, rendering them ineffective.
When one examines the Aremo of Yewaland’s life, one sees a life of consistency built over the years as a politician with class, panache, and camaraderie among his leaders, contemporaries, constituents, and even his mentees spread across the country.
Yayi knows his onions as a politician; he is well-liked and skilled at grassroots politics. This explains why, despite serving in the most populous senatorial district at the time, his constituents in his hometown of Ogun ensured that the accountant and taxation expert won the APC Senatorial ticket in Ogun West.
Accountability, bookkeeping, and critical scrutiny were beamed on various government agencies while he was Chairman of Public Accounts in the House of Representatives, and his name was mentioned nationally at various times.
