19/08/2026
THE TEAM IS SET: PDP OGUN EAST TAKES THE PITCH
Oyekoya Akintunde
Politics, like football, is a team game. No single player wins the match alone. You need a solid defense, a creative midfield, a clinical attack, and supporters in the stands who believe. On August 19, 2026, the People’s Democratic Campaign flag-off in Ogun East showed Ogun people exactly that a winning team has taken the pitch.
The flag-off paraded a team of capable hands , men and women with a plethora of knowledge about governance and public service. These are not political tourists. They are people who understand the job, who have served, and who are ready to serve again.
At the back, keeping the ball and ensuring the team maintains a clean sheet is Asiwaju Bolarinwa Oluwole ABO, . In Remo, they say ABO maintains his ABODE. And that is his role in this team. To defend the values of the people. To protect the mandate. To ensure that the foundation is solid and that nothing breaks through. His presence brings stability, loyalty, and the kind of leadership that reminds people that "omo wa ni."
In the midfield, dictating the tempo and providing the link between defense and attack is Hon Femi Omotayo. This is where games are won or lost. The midfield is about fluidity, balance, and endurance. Hon omotayo job is to ensure the team does not collapse under pressure, to keep possession, and to distribute opportunities evenly across the field. In governance terms, that is equity, coordination, and connecting government to the people.
The flank is not vacuum, it has the gentle man giant, Hon Anthony Wale Ogunbanjo, known for his ability in keeping eyes on the ball, supplying those wonderful crosses that leads to victory
Leading the attack is the veteran Hon. Segun Adekoya, popularly called “Attacker.” Every team needs a finisher. Someone with experience, with the eye for goal, and with the courage to take the shot. Hon. Segun represents that aggressive push for development, for projects, for results that the people can see and feel.
But no team wins with just 3 players. The squad is further strengthened by Honorable players, the House of Assembly candidates across Ogun State. Whose flag - off comes up in later week, They are the ones who will do the running, the pressing, and the grassroots work in every ward and every local government. A team is only as strong as its bench, and PDP Ogun East has depth.
The stands were full. Fans trooped out in numbers, not because they were mobilized with money, but because they believe in the team. And the biggest statement of intent came when the Ogun State Governorship and Hon Oladipupo Adebutu and his Deputy Governorship candidates, Alhaja Lateefah Showunmi Kolapo showed up. Their presence sent one clear message to the opposition and to the people: Ogun State is ready to witness a political tsunami.
A tsunami does not ask for permission. It comes with force, with direction, and it changes the landscape. That is the energy in Ogun East today.
If this flag-off is anything to go by, then PDP is not going into 2027 to play. We are going to win. With ABO holding the defense, Omo Owo controlling the midfield, Anthony wale playing from the flanks ,Attacker leading the frontline, and the entire squad backed by the people, victory is not a hope. It is a plan.
The whistle has blown.
The team is set. The game has started.
