The 2027 political season is gradually revealing a significant feature of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM): its gubernatorial choices in Oyo, Lagos and Ogun who are of similar forms of professional and administrative experience into the political conversation.
In Oyo, Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi comes with a background in accounting, finance, business engineering and public administration, including service as Deputy Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Finance and Budget Planning under the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi. He has also spoken publicly about his exposure to different administrations and his understanding of Oyo’s socioeconomic challenges.
In Lagos, Prince Laja Adeoye brings a private-sector profile spanning banking, oil and gas, entrepreneurship and real-estate development, while his proposed Àtúntò Èkó 1.0 focuses on infrastructure, housing, jobs, healthcare, education and security.
In Ogun, TPL Prince Rotimi Babajide, a professional town planner, has presented infrastructure, rural transformation, agriculture and inclusive governance as major elements of his proposed agenda.
What makes the Oyo choice particularly interesting is Seyi Makinde‘s own trajectory from engineering and entrepreneurship into governance. Before becoming governor, Makinde trained as an electrical engineer, worked in the oil and gas sector, established Makon Engineering and Technical Services in 1997 and rose to become Group Managing Director of Makon Group. He subsequently entered electoral politics and won the Oyo governorship in 2019. His governing model has placed considerable emphasis on infrastructure, economic expansion, agriculture and creating conditions for private-sector investment. The administration says Oyo’s monthly IGR rose substantially from its pre-2019 level, while major roads, agribusiness and investment projects have been pursued as part of its development strategy.
That background helps explain why the APM’s current gubernatorial lineup can be viewed through the broader question of “readiness to serve.” Adekanmbi’s case is perhaps the clearest example of a politician whose experience is directly connected to the machinery of state administration. He has managed public finances, worked within the State Executive Council and subsequently developed private-sector interests. Adeoye represents another dimension: a businessman with banking, energy and property-development experience seeking to translate private-sector exposure into public policy for Lagos. Babajide’s town-planning background, meanwhile, is particularly relevant to a state such as Ogun, where industrial expansion, urbanisation, transport corridors, housing and rural development require deliberate spatial planning.
There is, however, an important distinction between having an impressive résumé and demonstrating effective governance. No candidate should receive a blank cheque simply because of professional credentials. The real test for Adekanmbi, Adeoye and Babajide will be whether their experience can be converted into measurable public outcomes, whether their programmes are financially realistic and whether they can build institutions capable of delivering beyond campaign season. That is also an important lesson from Makinde’s Oyo experience. His administration reports progress across roads, education, healthcare, agriculture and internally generated revenue, but its own published scorecards also acknowledge areas where targets remain incomplete.
Ultimately, the emerging APM story in these three states of South West is less about finding politicians with identical backgrounds and more about putting people with different forms of experience before the electorate. Adekanmbi brings public-finance and government experience; Adeoye brings banking, entrepreneurship and property-development exposure; Babajide brings professional town-planning experience. Makinde’s own journey demonstrates how professional experience can become a foundation for political leadership, but the 2027 contest will give voters the opportunity to scrutinise whether each candidate can make that transition successfully. In the end, the strongest argument for any of them will not simply be that they are experienced, it will be what they can credibly show they are prepared to do with that experience in government.
Olusegun C. A. Taiwo [OCAT] PGDJ, the publisher of 9ja News 24/7, SSA on Digital Media Communication on Prince Laja Adeoye, APM Lagos State Gubernatorial Candidate
