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A former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, has declared his intention to contest the Ondo South Senatorial seat in the 2027 general elections.
Mr Ajayi made his intention known to journalists in Akure on Wednesday, thereby raising the stakes in the contention for the seat.
Mr Ajayi, who represented Ilaje/Ese-Odo federal constituency at the National Assembly between 2007 and 2011, said he had joined the race so he could attract more federal projects to the senatorial district.
He emphasised that none of National Assembly members who had represented the district had beaten his records as a federal legislator.
The politician who was deputy to the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in his first term in office, left the All Progressives Congress(APC) for the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) in 2020, but failed to clinch the governorship ticket, necessitating his further detection to the Zenith Labour Party where he contested the governorship election. He lost.
He also returned to the PDP in 2024, running as its governorship candidate, but lost to the APC’s Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
In January 2026, Mr Ajayi rejoined the APC , citing his desire to support Governor Aiyedatiwa and the Bola Tinubu administration as his reasons.
Speaking on his senatorial ambition, Mr Ajayi said that he was the most qualified and experienced among all chieftains of All Progressives Congress (APC) who have shown interest in the seat.
He said he had informed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim about his aspiration, both of whom he had received support.
He emphasised the need for APC to choose a candidate who is popular among the people because of the impact it would have in the Presidential election.
Ajayi alluded to the number of votes he won in the 2024 gubernatorial election in the state, saying this would add up to total votes of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the state.
A pioneer member of APC, Agboola Ajayi advocated that the remaining part of the tenure of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim should be completed by someone from the same constituency with Jimoh Ibrahim, Okitipupa.
He said he’s not interested in the bye-election for the seat whenever Senator Jimoh Ibrahim decides to resign having been appointed as the Nigeria Permanent Representative at the United Nations.
Mr Ajayi said it was the turn of Ese-Odo local government area in the Southern Senatorial District to occupy the senatorial seat.
“I have traversed the political landscape – from councillor, local government chairman, party secretary, to Deputy Governor and member of the National Assembly,” he said.
”I believe it is time to return and complete the unfinished projects I initiated for our people.
“I laid the foundation for major development projects, but they were not completed. That is why I want to return—to finish what I started.
“Out of the six local governments in Ondo South, mine is the only one that has not produced a senator. By all political calculations and fairness, it is our turn.
“The Senate is not a place for trial and error. It requires people who understand governance, legislation, and national dynamics.”
Mr Ibrahim was elected in the last election as senator for the zone, but had since been appointed as Ambassador to the United Nations by President Bola Tinubu.