Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello has expressed strong confidence about her prospects in the 2027 Ogun State governorship election, stating that she is a formidable contender in the race.
Obasanjo-Bello made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday, where she discussed her return to active politics, her governorship ambition, and the support she anticipates from her family.
The 59-year-old politician, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections, said she expects to receive the support of her parents, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“I am almost 60; I think that at this age, my friends who still have both parents alive are very few, so I consider myself lucky to have both my mother and my father alive.
“I don’t think at this age I should be consulting them for everything in my career move. What I have said is that my father, I know, and my mother will vote for me; that’s all that I can ask of them. Even if I don’t ask, they will vote for me; that I can guarantee,” she said.
The former lawmaker added, “So, my joining the APC is a personal journey for me; that is just the fact. But I know he will vote for me.”
Obasanjo-Bello also emphasised her political experience and track record, saying they position her strongly among other aspirants.
“I feel I am a formidable person to beat because of my track record, and so I am going to go for it.
“I have the same buy-in from the system that all the men have, but I just think that I am a better candidate and more formidable than them, and I am going to win,” the senator said.
Her declaration comes as she re-enters active politics roughly 15 years after serving as senator representing Ogun Central between 2007 and 2011.
Speaking on the APC primary race, Obasanjo-Bello noted that the party has so far provided equal opportunities for aspirants seeking its governorship ticket.
Asked whether she had received support from the state leadership or Governor Dapo Abiodun, she said no candidate had been officially endorsed.
“The party has given a level playing field. It’s two months; it’s close, but also the party is not going to say, ‘it’s you; you’ve gotten it.’ I don’t see any nod that has been given to any candidate that is different from the nod I got, which is that you go electioneering like everybody else, and we’ll see.”
“To say that somehow I have been guaranteed the ticket? No. I don’t think anybody in the state has guaranteed anybody else the ticket and has not guaranteed me the ticket,” she said.
She added that her long-standing political engagement and interactions with communities across Ogun State would strengthen her campaign.
However, she acknowledged that she must first secure the APC governorship ticket through the party’s primaries before contesting in 2027, when Governor Abiodun is expected to complete his second term in office.
Obasanjo-Bello confirmed that she formally joined the APC in Ogun State after participating in the party’s ongoing e-registration exercise in Ibogun, Ward 11, in Ifo Local Government Area.
According to her, supporters had been encouraging her for about two years to return to politics, a factor that influenced her decision.
She ruled out returning to the PDP because of its internal challenges and said she also considered the African Democratic Congress (ADC) but was uncertain about the party’s readiness ahead of the elections.
After consulting political allies and supporters, she described the APC as her “natural home”, adding that she feels comfortable within the party.
Obasanjo-Bello previously served as Ogun State Commissioner for Health during the administration of former governor Gbenga Daniel before she was elected senator representing Ogun Central in 2007.
She lost her re-election bid in 2011 to Gbenga Obadara of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Following that defeat, she relocated to the United States where she continued her academic career and later became a professor.
The APC currently holds strong political influence in Ogun State, having governed the state for about 15 years through successive administrations.
Before Governor Abiodun assumed office, Ibikunle Amosun served two terms as governor from 2011 to 2019, while the PDP governed the state under Gbenga Daniel from 2003 to 2011.
Despite calls for greater female representation in politics, no woman has ever been elected governor of Ogun State.
However, women have served as deputy governors, including the current deputy governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, and Yetunde Onanuga, who held the position between 2015 and 2019.
Another female aspirant in the 2027 governorship race under the APC is Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, a veteran journalist and former Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to Governor Abiodun.