Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Ogun State governorship in the 2027 election, pledged to fully comply with Nigeria’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and to treat journalists as partners in governance. He made the promise during a courtesy visit to the Ogun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the Iwe Iroyin Press Centre in Ibara, Abeokuta, on the weekend ahead of the party’s statewide campaign tour.
“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,” Adeola said. He added that his government would “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.”
The visit came after the lifting of the ban on campaign activities and the inauguration of the APC Campaign Council, chaired by Senator Lekan Mustapha. Adeola emphasized that journalists are “custodians of public memory” who will hold his administration accountable “page by page, project by project.”
He outlined a nine‑pillar blueprint for the state, describing it as a covenant rather than mere promises. The pillars include:
- Infrastructure – Ogun Bus Mass Transit, a commuter rail link with Lagos, and the OgunRide mobility platform
- Tourism and Creative Arts
- Education
- Security – a Cybersecurity Centre and Residents Identity Management Agency
- Health – the “Ilera D’ero” programme for 2 million residents
- Youth empowerment – 100,000 digital‑skills trainees and 500,000 jobs
- Agricultural transformation
- Industrialisation – a Solid Minerals Company
- Urban renewal
Adeola also highlighted recent oil developments, noting that commercial drilling began at Eba Island in Ogun Waterside in January 2026 and that exploration is progressing at Tongeji Island in Ipokia. Both projects anchor a planned 200 km Coastal Energy Corridor to be serviced by the Olokola Deep Seaport, positioning Ogun State to become an oil‑producing state entitled to a 13 % derivation.
On governance, he identified six catalysts: fiscal discipline through a Single Window Revenue System targeting a 40 % increase in internally generated revenue, justice sector reform, legislation reform, civil service reform with full implementation of the minimum wage, assets optimisation, and local‑government autonomy in line with the 2024 Supreme Court ruling. Adeola thanked journalists for their role in his election as Ogun West Senator in 2023 and his selection as the APC governorship flag bearer, urging the press to hold him to every line of his manifesto, from commuters in Sango‑Ota to fishermen on Tongeji Island.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
