Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, daughter of former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, has confirmed her membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared her intention to run in the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
Obasanjo made the announcement in aninteractive programme on 103.7FM Eagle7 Sports, anchored by Nigerian football legend Segun Odegbami, marking her return to active politics after about 15 years away from elective office. She said her decision followed consultations with supporters and stakeholders across the state.
She explained that a group of her supporters had campaigned quietly for her return over the past two years. “Like I told you, a group of people who I did not bring together, I did not form them into a group, have been working, I think, for two years now,” she said. “And then they started talking to me about a year ago, saying, ‘Look, we think you are the best candidate. We want you back.’”
Obasanjo also confirmed that she considered other political platforms before settling on the APC. “So, I think APC is my natural home. I don’t have any animosity towards any individual or any group within the APC. I feel comfortable with all the actors I know within the APC.
“I feel more comfortable, actually, than with some of the actors I know in the PDP, and some of them are now in the ADC. So I think it’s my natural home. I feel quite confident and happy to have made that decision.
“I have an absolute 100% feeling it’s my natural home,” she said.
Asked on her ambition upon returning to active politics, Iyabo ruled out going back to the Senate, saying she is running for the state’s governorship seat.
“So moving ahead, I’m not going to be Commissioner. Like I said, I’m not even going back to the same party because I think that’s old and I don’t see the use of it. And I’m not going to go back to the Senate.
“Like the American would say, there’s no need. And this is what I told my associates, when this all started. I said, the only thing I’ll come back to do is the governorship.
“And we have started that journey. We are going to see it through. And so that’s the journey I’m on. And we are very serious about it. I mean we are very dedicated to it,” she said.
If elected, she would succeed the current governor, Dapo Abiodun, who was re-elected in March 2023 under the APC banner and is serving his second term.
Iyabo Obasanjo was born on April 27, 1967, and trained as a veterinarian before moving into public service and politics.
She served as Ogun State Commissioner for Health from 2003 to 2007 before winning election as Senator for Ogun Central in 2007. She represented the district until 2011. After leaving elective politics, she relocated to the United States and pursued an academic career in public health.
