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From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State for the 2027 election, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, has promised to fully comply with the Freedom of Information Act if elected governor.
He equally declared that his administration will treat the press as a partner in governance and not an inconvenience to be managed.
Adeola made this promise at the weekend during a courtesy and familiarization visit to the Ogun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at Iwe Iroyin Press Centre, Ibara, Abeokuta, ahead of the statewide campaign tour of the party.
“My administration will comply fully with the Freedom of Information Act, hold regular, substantive press briefings rather than choreographed photo opportunities, and treat this Union as a partner in governance,” the governorship candidate said.
He added: “We will also look seriously at the welfare and safety of working journalists in this state, because a government that fears scrutiny has already told you what it intends to hide, and that will not be this administration.”
Adeola said he considered it appropriate to first visit the Fourth Estate of the Realm following the lifting of the ban on campaigns and inauguration of the APC Campaign Council headed by Senator Lekan Mustapha, noting that journalists are custodians of public memory who will hold him accountable page by page, project by project.
Describing his blueprint as a covenant and not mere promises, the Senator unveiled nine cardinal pillars including Infrastructure with Ogun Bus Mass Transit, commuter rail link with Lagos and OgunRide mobility platform; Tourism and Creative Arts; Education; Security with a Cybersecurity Centre and Residents Identity Management Agency; Health via “Ilera D’ero” for 2 million residents; Youth empowerment targeting 100,000 digital skills and 500,000 jobs; Agricultural Transformation; Industrialization including a Solid Minerals Company; and Urban Renewal.
He disclosed that commercial oil drilling commenced at Eba Island in Ogun Waterside in January 2026, putting Ogun on the path to becoming an oil-producing state entitled to 13% derivation, while exploration is advancing at Tongeji Island in Ipokia, both anchoring a 200km Coastal Energy Corridor to be serviced by Olokola Deep Seaport.
On governance, Adeola listed six catalysts that will propel his administration. These include Fiscal Discipline with a Single Window Revenue System targeting 40% IGR uplift, Justice Sector Reform, Legislation Reform, Civil Service Reform with full implementation of minimum wage, Assets Optimization, and Local Government Autonomy in line with the 2024 Supreme Court ruling.
He, however, lauded journalists in the state for their role in his emergence as Ogun West Senator in 2023 and as APC governorship flag bearer for 2027, saying he had always supported NUJ programmes and empowerment of journalists even before his visit to Iwe Iroyin, which he had looked forward to for two decades.
Adeola urged the press to hold him to every line of his manifesto, from the commuter waiting for a bus in Sango-Ota to the fisherman on Tongeji Island, submitting that “the progress of Ogun State is our duty and calling”.
