All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (popularly known as Yayi), has outlined an ambitious economic agenda centred on mineral resources, industrial taxation and accelerated development if elected.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos on his post-election plans, Adeola said an APC government under his leadership would actively obtain mining licences for the state’s mineral deposits. While acknowledging that control of solid minerals remains a federal responsibility, he insisted Ogun could no longer remain a passive spectator while explorers secure federal licences and return meagre payments to the state.
“The state will pick up the licence for every mineral resource in Ogun. Investors will partner with the state. The benefits are enormous – jobs, taxes and control of environmental degradation. I can go on road show with the licence. Our GDP must increase,” he declared.
He noted that Ogun is richly endowed, including recently discovered gold deposits, and stressed that potential miners must be prepared to enter genuine partnerships with the state government. The administration would also participate in competitive bidding for licences to maximise benefits for the Gateway State.
On revenue mobilisation, Adeola promised a decisive expansion of the tax net to capture current evaders and end the era of “business as usual.” He expressed particular concern that many industries operating in Ogun pay the bulk of their taxes to Lagos while contributing little to the host state.
“I am uncomfortable with a situation whereby those who work in industries in Ogun pay taxes to Lagos and pay so little to the Gateway State,” he said. He would therefore urge companies to locate at least their regional offices in Ogun if they cannot move their headquarters. This, he argued, would encourage middle-level staff to live in the state and boost local economic activity.
Housing development would support this shift. “I can create a new Magodo in Ogun. The land is there. Attention would be given to border towns,” Adeola stated.
The candidate also pledged to domesticate a local content law at the state level “without injury to anyone” and to place renewed emphasis on agriculture. Empowerment programmes would continue but in a more structured form, with a new Ministry of Wealth Creation. Youths would receive heavy equipment rather than cutlasses and hoes to encourage commercial farming.
Adeola used the opportunity to strongly endorse President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term, describing his performance since 2023 as unmatched by any president since the return to democracy in 1999. He cited the removal of fuel subsidy, the absence of major strikes, the take-off of NELFUND and consumer credit schemes, ongoing coastal road projects, reduced fuel smuggling, declining borrowing and NNPC’s return to profitability as evidence of progress.
He contrasted this record with what he described as the lack of viable alternative programmes from other presidential contenders, specifically naming Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, and asked what tangible legacy the latter left in Anambra after eight years.
Adeola concluded that Ogun, which he noted is larger than countries such as Togo and Sierra Leone, must demonstrate the capacity for self-driven development while working closely with the Tinubu administration.