Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has unveiled Mrs. Kudirat Abiodun Adegunwa-Balogun as the Deputy Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 elections, in what party insiders describe as a carefully calibrated move to cement zoning, gender and religious balancing ahead of the crucial poll.
Speaking at the APC State Secretariat in Abeokuta, Abiodun said Adegunwa-Balogun’s emergence as running mate to the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi), was the outcome of “extensive consultations” and a deliberate strategy to reflect equity, inclusiveness and internal party cohesion.
The governor linked the choice directly to the party’s broader power-sharing arrangement, explaining that with the governorship ticket conceded to Ogun West Senatorial District, the deputy slot was deliberately ceded to Ogun East to achieve what he called “fair and equitable representation” across the state.
He disclosed that further micro-zoning narrowed the search to Ijebu land, specifically the Ijebu Central Federal Constituency, after leaders from Ogun East agreed that the area should produce the next deputy governor. Within that framework, Abiodun said party elders rigorously weighed “gender balancing, religious balancing, competence and acceptability” before zeroing in on Adegunwa-Balogun.
“We sat down and looked across the six local governments in Ijebu,” he said. “After extensive consultations and careful consideration, we arrived at a candidate who meets all the necessary criteria.”
Beyond zoning, the move is seen as a strategic statement by the APC about inclusiveness, as the party seeks to consolidate its base and neutralise potential grievances ahead of 2027. Abiodun stressed that while the party provided broad parameters on origin, gender and other balancing factors, the final decision was consciously handed to Senator Adeola, who will have to work closely with his deputy if elected.
“I believe the choice of a deputy governor should largely be that of the incoming governor because he is the one who will work with that person on a daily basis,” the governor said, adding that Adeola, whom he described as “highly intelligent and experienced”, had made “an excellent choice.”
Abiodun also tied the unveiling to what he portrayed as a new culture of conflict-free internal democracy in Ogun APC. He recalled the April 14 meeting where party leaders unanimously endorsed Adeola as governorship candidate, describing it as the turning point that produced rancour-free primaries across senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly contests.
“That meeting was very defining and instructive,” he said. “The peaceful display of democracy we witnessed at that gathering was what cascaded down to all other primaries.”
The governor revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had privately commended the Ogun APC for its seamless primary process and had sought to understand how the state managed to avoid post-primary protests and disputes that often trail such exercises.
Abiodun said Monday’s unveiling was not merely ceremonial, but designed to secure formal ratification of Adegunwa-Balogun’s candidacy by the party’s highest decision-making organ in the state, effectively closing any room for future controversy over the deputy governorship slot.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce to us who our deputy governor will be by the grace of God,” he told party leaders and stakeholders before presenting her for endorsement. “We have consulted, we have spoken to leaders, and now we have brought her before this august body for formal endorsement so that the matter can be considered settled.”
With Adegunwa-Balogun’s presentation, the APC in Ogun appears to have fully assembled its 2027 gubernatorial ticket, projecting an image of unity and calculated inclusiveness as it prepares for what is expected to be a fiercely contested election cycle.