"In Ogun State, there is a fight going on that most people don't see, but everybody who drives, rides, or takes a bus feels its effects every day. This fight is over who controls the motor parks and garages, and it is worth billions of naira. Right now, that fight is heating up because Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, known to everyone as Yayi, wants to become governor in 2027.
To understand why this matters, you need to know what a "transport union" really is in Ogun. It is not just a group of drivers who help each other. It is more like a private government that collects money every single day from every bus, every taxi, and every motorcycle that moves in the state. Whoever controls these unions controls a river of cash that never stops flowing.
For the past eight years, this river has flowed into the pockets of people from one part of Ogun State, the Ogun East district, which covers areas like Remo and Ijebu. This did not happen by accident. It started under former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who put his own brother and a strongman called Jango in charge, and back then, it was people from Ogun Central, the Egba area, who had the real power.
But when Governor Dapo Abiodun took over in 2019, he flipped the whole system. He scattered the old union leaders and brought in something new called "Park Management." He placed his own kinsman in charge to watch over everything. People who wanted to keep their position in the unions had to prove their loyalty to the new government. Anyone who refused was pushed aside.
Since then, the biggest and most profitable unions have been firmly in the hands of Abiodun's people from Remo and Ijebu. One man called Efele runs the Road Transport Union. Another man, Taofeek Sokoya, known as Danku, controls the motorcycle riders' union called AMORAN. A man called Yaro runs the road transport workers' union, NURTW. Even the overall body that oversees all of them, called PAGADA, is led by another Remo man. Meanwhile, the old power brokers from Ogun Central, like a man called Iyeru, have been left with almost nothing, just watching from the sidelines and waiting.
This is where Yayi comes in. Because he is not from Ogun East, his rise as the APC's chosen candidate for governor has excited people who feel left out under the current system, especially those from Ogun West. Already, people close to Yayi are pushing for a man called Chief Aremu Olanrewaju, nicknamed Omo Iya Aje, to be given control of one of the big unions if Yayi wins. Their argument is simple: it is time for power, and the money that comes with it, to move back to the West.
But Yayi has other people pulling at him too. Some of the rich men and political godfathers in Lagos who supported his campaign also want a share of this transport union money machine. They spent money to help him win, and now they expect something back. This puts Yayi in a tricky spot, because he will have to choose carefully who he rewards once he becomes governor, if he wins at all.
What makes this story so important is that whoever controls the garages does not just control money. They control an army of foot soldiers, the drivers, conductors, and touts who can be used to support or disrupt an election. This is why insiders say the fight for the garages is just as serious as the fight for the Government House itself.
As 2027 gets closer, the old guard from Ogun East is holding on tight, while new hands from Ogun West and Ogun Central are quietly plotting a comeback. Nobody knows yet who will win, but everyone agrees on one thing: the battle for Ogun's garages is only just beginning, and it will shape the state's politics for years to come.
