Bakinson spoke at a special prayer and thanksgiving session organised to commemorate Adeola’s 57th birthday at the Owu Club, Abeokuta, where Muslim clerics, political supporters and members of various groups gathered to celebrate the senator and seek divine guidance for his political journey.
The event, which combined birthday celebration with prayers for Adeola’s 2027 ambition, reflected growing political mobilisation around the senator, with speakers highlighting what they described as his interventions, experience and commitment to supporting people beyond his immediate constituency.
Bakinson, who is also the Aare Mayegun of Owu Kingdom and Aare Adeen of Owu Muslims, said the prayer was organised because he believed that political aspirations and other worthwhile endeavours required divine support for sustainability.
“I believe that even good things need prayer for sustainability,” Bakinson said.
While expressing confidence in Adeola’s prospects, Bakinson stressed that political calculations and evidence alone were not enough, insisting that divine intervention remained important in determining the outcome of the 2027 governorship contest.
“I know the potential of prayer. So, I know that as sure as this may be evidence-based and figure-wise that he will emerge as a governor, I still believe in the power of prayer for prayer to make it so,” he said.
The Bakinson Movement founder, however, said his support for Adeola was not based solely on political calculations, but on what he described as the senator’s demonstrated generosity and willingness to assist people.
According to him, Adeola’s benevolence had become one of the major factors influencing his decision to identify with the senator’s governorship project, describing the APC chieftain as a man whose “act of giving is second to none.”
“Yayi is benevolent and the act of giving is second to none,” Bakinson said.
He further argued that Adeola’s personal disposition towards helping others offered an insight into how he might approach public responsibilities if elected governor, particularly in managing the resources of Ogun State.
“If somebody in his private life can be that almsgiving, I don’t wonder when such person has access to the state resources which is our common wealth,” he said.
Bakinson also pointed to interventions he attributed to Adeola outside his immediate political constituency, citing a transformer he said the senator facilitated in the area where the birthday prayer was held as an example of his wider approach to development.
Turning to the broader development needs of Ogun State, Bakinson said the state must improve its planning and strategic use of its economic advantages, particularly its proximity to Lagos, in order to significantly increase internally generated revenue.
“For me, planning is missing. And in planning, the governor is the number one planner of the state,” he said, arguing that the right combination of professional expertise and political leadership could help unlock the state’s economic potential.
He expressed optimism that Adeola, with appropriate professional advice and strategic planning, could position Ogun to take greater advantage of its economic opportunities if given the mandate to govern the state.
Other speakers at the gathering reinforced Bakinson’s position, linking their support for Adeola to what they described as his record of interventions and political experience.
Comrade Chief Azeez Olalekan, Treasurer of Bobaniyi of Owu Kingdom, cited roads, classroom projects, market infrastructure and solar lighting among interventions he attributed to Adeola, arguing that the senator’s development interests extended beyond Ogun West.
Similarly, the President of Excellent Club 88 of Abeokuta, Excellent Taofiq Fajobi, said Adeola’s experience as a former member of the House of Representatives and serving senator had given him valuable legislative and political exposure that could be deployed in governing Ogun State.
Asipa Nurudeen Oketokun, President of the Country Club, also cited Adeola’s reported interventions, particularly in solar lighting, as part of the reasons for his confidence in the senator’s capacity to contribute further to the development of Ogun.
In his remarks, the Chief Imam of Owu Kingdom, Alhaji Sulaimon Akorede, charged Adeola’s supporters not to rely on prayers alone but to combine faith with active political engagement ahead of 2027.
“Don’t just sit down and pray alone. You need to move. You need to work,” Akorede said.
He stressed the importance of combining prayer with practical effort, urging supporters of the senator to remain active and committed to the political process.
The gathering therefore served a dual purpose: celebrating Adeola at 57 and strengthening the mobilisation around his 2027 governorship aspiration, with Bakinson and other supporters presenting his alleged generosity, interventions and political experience as key reasons for their support.
