The YAYI Progressives Movement inaugurated more than 1,100 artisan ambassadors at a political rally in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, on Friday, 30 October 2026, as it expanded its campaign organisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The event at the Otunba Dipo Dina International Stadium brought together supporters from Ogun East’s nine local government areas, including traders, craftspeople, market associations, youth groups and party officials. It was organised to mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Ogun State’s All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as YAYI, and other APC candidates.
The newly inaugurated ambassadors were drawn from occupations including tailoring, carpentry, mechanics and hairdressing. The movement intends to use their professional and community networks to reach voters in markets, workshops and neighbourhoods. Their appointment represents a campaign mobilisation initiative, not a government employment or financial assistance programme.
Before the stadium programme, supporters took part in a solidarity procession from the Mobalufon area of Ijebu-Ode. Accounts of the event described a gathering attended by thousands, although no independently audited attendance figure has been established. The rally followed a change of date announced by the organisers earlier in the week.
YAYI Progressives Movement convener Akintunde Armstrong said the Ogun East event would be followed by similar mobilisation exercises in Ogun Central and Ogun West. The plan is intended to give the group a presence across all three senatorial districts rather than concentrate its campaign activity in one part of the state.
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun used the gathering to reiterate the APC’s target of delivering two million votes for President Tinubu in the next election. He urged party supporters to back the party’s candidates across the different elective offices. The figure is a political target announced by the governor, not an election result or an independently verified projection.
“We have promised our president two million votes.”
Governor Dapo Abiodun, speaking at the Ogun East rally
Senator Adeola thanked those who attended and commended the involvement of young people in the rally. He currently represents Ogun West in the Senate and chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations. His bid to succeed Abiodun as governor has made Ogun’s campaign organisation a focus of political activity ahead of the 2027 polls.
Abiodun, who has also indicated an ambition to represent Ogun East in the Senate, appeared alongside other APC figures at the event. The presence of serving officials and prospective candidates underlined the party’s effort to coordinate its campaigns across the presidential, governorship and legislative contests.
The mobilisation of artisans is particularly notable because many trade associations have extensive networks extending beyond formal party membership. Tailors, mechanics, hairdressers and other small-business operators interact with residents daily. For YPM, appointing ambassadors from these trades offers a way to take campaign messages into workplaces and communities where conventional political meetings may have a narrower reach.
However, participation in a rally cannot be treated as a reliable measure of eventual electoral support. Neither the number of ambassadors inaugurated nor the size of the crowd establishes how voters will cast their ballots. The two-million-vote pledge remains an ambition that will be tested only when votes are counted.
The campaign comes as communities in Ogun continue to raise practical demands about infrastructure and public services. On 23 October, representatives of the Obafemi-Owode Strong Alliance and a state lawmaker urged Adeola to prioritise road improvements if elected. Community representatives also raised electricity and other development needs, illustrating the policy expectations that will accompany the electoral contest.
Those concerns provide a test for candidates seeking to convert political enthusiasm into support beyond organised party structures. Residents will be weighing campaign promises against everyday questions about roads, power supply, education and the cost of running small businesses. The rally itself did not constitute delivery of those services.
YPM says it will extend its mobilisation activities to the remaining senatorial districts. The movement’s next rallies, and the proposals advanced by the candidates it supports, will provide further opportunities to assess how its campaign pledges address the needs raised by communities across Ogun State.
Featured photograph: Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola YAYI at an earlier Ogun West town hall event, from his official X account. Archive photograph, not the 30 October rally. Photographer not identified.
