“Our Children Deserve Jobs Here, Not Japa” — Obafemi
The 2027 senatorial race in Ekiti North has begun to generate fresh political momentum as youths, women, artisans, traders and community groups across the district’s five Local Government Areas reportedly rally around the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Otunba Dr. Olugbega Peter Obafemi, popularly known as OPO.
The development followed a two-week consultation tour by the OPO Campaign Organisation, which took the candidate and his team across Ikole, Oye, Ido-Osi, Moba and Ilejemeje Local Government Areas.
In a statement issued on Monday by the campaign’s Media Team, the organisation described the reception during the consultations as overwhelming, saying what began as engagements with traditional rulers had evolved into broader interactions with grassroots stakeholders.
According to the campaign, market women, artisans, commercial motorcycle operators and student groups have increasingly identified with Obafemi’s message of what it describes as purposeful and accessible representation.
The campaign quoted residents as expressing dissatisfaction with elected representatives who, in their words, become inaccessible after elections, while seeking a senator who would maintain contact with constituents and facilitate federal interventions for the district.
“People are tired of senators who disappear after election. They are looking for someone who will stay with them, speak for them and bring federal projects home. That is what they see in OPO,” the Media Team said.”
Obafemi, an aviation entrepreneur, is also being presented by his campaign as a candidate with an established record of community interventions in Ekiti North.
The Media Team cited his reported scholarship initiatives, medical outreaches and empowerment programmes for small-scale traders as evidence of his involvement in community service predating his current senatorial bid.
The campaign said Obafemi is seeking the mandate on a seven-point development agenda centred on youth employment and skills acquisition, modern agriculture and rural access roads, quality education, primary healthcare, rural infrastructure, inclusive governance and community security.
Speaking on the aspirations of young people in the district, Obafemi was quoted as saying:
“Our children deserve jobs here at home, not Japa. Our farmers deserve roads to take their produce to market. Our mothers deserve hospitals that work. I have walked with you in the markets, in the palaces and in our communities. Now I am ready to walk with you to Abuja to speak for us.”
‘Politics Must Not Divide Ekiti North’
Against the backdrop of reported political tensions in parts of the district, the SDP candidate has continued to call for peaceful political engagement.
The campaign recalled Obafemi’s recent condemnation of the reported vandalisation of the campaign office of an ADC aspirant, Dr. Funso Ayeni, in Ido-Osi.
“We are brothers and sisters before politics. No political ambition is worth the tears or blood of our people. After elections, we will still remain one Ekiti North,” Obafemi was quoted as saying.
The campaign organisation said the consultation programme would proceed to ward-to-ward listening tours in the coming days as political parties move towards the conclusion of their nomination and primary processes ahead of the 2027 National Assembly elections.
With the race for the Ekiti North Senate seat beginning to attract increased grassroots activity, the consultations are positioning Obafemi and the SDP for deeper engagement with voters across the five-LGA senatorial district.
The campaign, however, maintained its central message: “Ekiti North needs a senator who will not be silent in Abuja. Ekiti North needs OPO.”
