By Adesakin Adefemi
Former Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello has declared her intention to run for governor of Ogun State in the 2027 general election, saying she doesn’t need her father, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s, support to win.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Obasanjo-Bello, 59, stated that she is confident in her abilities and track record, and that her parents will vote for her regardless.
“I don’t need his support. I’m almost 60… I think that at this age, my friends that still have both parents alive are very few, very few. So, I consider myself lucky at this age to have both my mother and my father alive,” she said.
Obasanjo-Bello, who served as a senator and commissioner for health in Ogun State, said her entry into politics was driven by excitement at grassroots campaigning, an experience she had never encountered growing up during the military era.
She added that her parents would vote for her regardless, saying, “My father, I know, and my mother will vote for me. That’s all I can ask of them. I don’t even need to ask of them. Even if I didn’t ask, they will vote for me.”
On the question of consistency, given that she had been absent from active politics since losing her Senate seat, Obasanjo-Bello said she had not intended to seek re-election in the first place, and had postponed her Harvard fellowship by a year due to pressure from supporters.
She said her initial entry into politics was driven by excitement at grassroots campaigning, an experience she had never encountered growing up during the military era.
Obasanjo-Bello, who has served as Commissioner for Health in Ogun State and as a senator representing her senatorial district, said these positions were the foundation of her current governorship bid.
She disclosed that decades of work in the United States had yielded retirement savings invested in the American stock market, which she said would form part of her campaign war chest.
On the party primary, she said no candidate in Ogun State had been given a guaranteed APC ticket, including herself, but expressed confidence in her chances, saying, “I feel I’m a formidable person to beat because of my track record. I just think I’m a better candidate and more formidable than them. And I’m going to win.”
