Ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Ogun State, the Convener of the Alternative Movement, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has cautioned political aspirants against turning the race into an ethnic contest or a campaign of calumny against the Senator representing Ogun West, Adeola Olamilekan Yayi.
Showunmi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, gave the warning on Friday while receiving the state executives of the Action Alliance at his residence in Ibara GRA, Abeokuta.
He urged governorship hopefuls to focus on clear, issue-based manifestos rather than fanning tribal sentiments or engaging in personal attacks.
“Campaign your campaign without an attack on Yayi. Nobody should brag about the right of being an Egba. Who gave them the right? Don’t reduce the conversation of the next governorship in Ogun State to tribal issues. Ogun is a cosmopolitan modern state,” he said.
The PDP stalwart stressed that the 2027 contest must revolve around vision, competence and accountability, noting that Ogun residents deserve a serious debate on development priorities.
According to him, reducing the political discourse to ethnic calculations and monetary inducement would only trivialise the process and alienate voters.
“When you don’t ask questions of development, you trivialise the conversation. How do we even know who to support? How do we know who to push or market?” he queried.
Showunmi challenged aspirants to publicly declare their ambitions and articulate concrete policy directions that justify their quest for leadership.
“Let any man who wants to be governor come forward and tell Ogun people what he desires and why. Let him justify it,” he said.
He also warned against monetising the electoral process, condemning what he described as the growing belief that financial inducement determines electoral outcomes.
“Why should the only conversation on the table be money? Why should our generation agree that those who have stolen our money should continue to determine leadership because we are not punishing them?” he asked.
He maintained that elections should not be reduced to transactional engagements but driven by ideas, integrity and measurable development plans.
“You will not force our people to become procured voters on election day. The conversation for Ogun now is different,” he added.
Earlier, the State Chairman of the Action Alliance, Prof. Tunde Adebola, expressed the party’s readiness to work closely with Showunmi in pursuit of his governorship ambition ahead of the 2027 poll.
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