Yayi Unveils Bold Jobs Plan,Pledges Full LG Autonomy for Ogun

ABEOKUTA — All Progressives Congress governorship candidate Senator Solomon Adeola on Friday laid out an ambitious development blueprint, promising to generate more than 500,000 jobs, train 100,000 young people in digital skills, and fully implement local government financial autonomy if elected in 2027

.Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Ogun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists at the Iwe Iroyin Press Centre, Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, described his proposals as a binding “covenant” with the people rather than the usual political rhetoric. He invited journalists to hold him accountable “page by page, project by project.”

“I stand before you not as a politician reciting promises, but as a son of Ogun State bringing you a covenant,” he said. “You are the custodians of public memory. Whether you call me Senator, or one day a Governor, you will be the ones who ask me, in one year, in two years, ‘what happened to that promise you made in Abeokuta?’ That is exactly the relationship I want with this Union.”

The senator, who represents Ogun West and chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said his experience in public finance and legislative oversight—having previously chaired finance and appropriations committees at both state and federal levels—had prepared him for the top job in the Gateway State.

Central to his plan is tackling youth unemployment. Citing a figure that one in four people aged 15 to 24 in the state is without work, Adeola pledged to train 100,000 young people in digital skills by 2031. Within the first six months of his administration, he said, a Youth Enterprise Hub would open in Abeokuta, with satellite hubs across the state, backed by microcredit for young entrepreneurs. The target is a 40 per cent cut in youth unemployment and the creation of over 500,000 jobs.

On local government administration, Adeola committed to implementing the 2024 Supreme Court ruling on financial autonomy for the state’s 20 local government areas. Allocations, he said, would flow directly to the councils without state-level interception or diversion.

“Government that cannot be felt where people live is not government at all,” he declared. “Itesiwaju Ipinle Ogun must be felt at the local government level, and it begins on day one.”

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His broader agenda, framed around the nine-pillar ITESIWAJU framework (Infrastructure; Tourism and Culture; Economic Empowerment; Security and Welfare; Inclusive Growth and Well-being; Women, Youth and Poverty Eradication; Agriculture and Food Security; Job Creation and Industrialisation; and Urbanisation and Transparency), places heavy emphasis on connectivity and industrial growth.

Under infrastructure, Adeola proposed an Ogun State Bus Mass Transit Programme on major corridors linking Abeokuta, Sango-Ota and Sagamu. He said his administration would partner the Nigerian Railway Corporation to introduce commuter rail services between Abeokuta and Lagos, connecting the state’s industrial zones to the Lagos rail network. A state-backed mobility platform called OgunRide would support commercial car, tricycle and motorcycle operators with health insurance, vehicle financing and cooperative services.

He also promised expanded digital connectivity, affordable housing and the development of new towns along high-growth corridors.

Agriculture would be transformed through mechanisation, farmer financing, climate-smart practices and agro-industrial parks. A State-Supported Produce Market and processing hubs would aim to cut post-harvest losses and link farmers to larger markets.

On industrialisation and solid minerals, Adeola said a Solid Minerals Development Company would facilitate licences and joint ventures.

Artisanal miners would be brought into the formal economy through simplified licensing and cooperative support. He placed special emphasis on oil exploration in Ogun Waterside and around Tongeji Island in Ipokia, arguing that the two areas could form a “200-kilometre Coastal Energy Corridor” stretching from the Benin Republic border to Ondo State, with the Olokola Deep Seaport as a long-term maritime gateway.

“This is revenue we must prepare for responsibly. It must be governed transparently, and it must visibly rebuild the coastal communities that have waited longest for development,” he said.

In healthcare, he pledged to revitalise the state health insurance scheme, Ilera D’ero, with a target of enrolling two million residents, alongside investments in hospitals, primary healthcare facilities and better welfare for medical personnel.

Education plans include expanded technical and vocational training, recruitment and training of qualified teachers, and rehabilitation of classrooms and learning infrastructure.

Security measures would involve increased funding for the Ogun State Security Trust Fund, a Cybersecurity and Security Operations Centre, and a Residents Identity Management Agency.
Environmental proposals include relaunching the Ogun State Waste Management Agency with licensed private operators for door-to-door collection, waste-to-energy plants, recycling hubs and intensified street sweeping under a Clean Ogun Initiative. He set a 2031 target for ending open defecation while improving water and sanitation and enforcing physical planning rules.

On revenue, Adeola proposed a Single Window Revenue Collection System integrating PAYE, taxes, fees and levies, aiming for a 40 per cent rise in internally generated revenue and a three-to-fivefold increase in land revenue by 2031. He publicly credited the incumbent administration for reported revenue growth between 2021 and 2024, saying his task would be to build on that momentum rather than start from scratch.

Additional commitments cover multipurpose sports complexes in each senatorial district through public-private partnerships, an Ogun Youth Sports Academy, reforms in the justice sector and civil service, improved training and remuneration for government workers, and an audit of underutilised public assets for responsible commercialisation.

Adeola, a chartered accountant and three-term senator who previously represented Lagos West before moving to Ogun West in 2023, has positioned himself as a continuity candidate who would complete viable projects started by the current administration while accelerating development. His emergence as the APC consensus candidate followed intensive party consultations and has drawn support from key stakeholders across the state’s three senatorial districts.

As the 2027 race gathers pace, the senator’s detailed pledges on jobs, grassroots governance and industrial expansion set a high bar that both supporters and critics will be watching closely.