• Engr. Muftau Open Salawu, the 2027 APM deputy governorship candidate
Twenty-three years after, Ogbomoso people have been urged to rally behind the Allied People’s Movement (APM) deputy governorship candidate, Engr. Muftau Open Salawu, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Pro-democracy stakeholders said the move could replicate the historic backing the zone gave the late former Oyo State governor, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, in 2003.
Open Salawu, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), was nominated as running mate to the APM governorship candidate, Hon. Bimbo Adekambi, for the 2027 elections.
His supporters have called on the people of Ogbomoso Zone and beyond to extend to him the same level of support they gave Alao-Akala when he was nominated deputy governor to Senator Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja, citing his contributions to religious activities, education, economic empowerment and infrastructure development.
They argued that Open Salawu’s interventions across different communities, religious groups and political affiliations had earned him goodwill and positioned him as a notable figure in Ogbomoso’s development efforts.
Open Salawu, who holds the traditional titles of Babalaje of Ogbomosoland and Giwa Adini of Oyo State, hails from Ile Alapa, Isale Ora, Ita Alasa, in Ogbomoso North Local Government Area.
In the religious sector, he has supported Christian and Muslim communities through donations, sponsorships and the construction of places of worship.
He donated a bus to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ogbomoso Zone, in 2021 and has sponsored Rev. Dr. Titilade Adetayo’s Christian radio programme on Parrot FM every Friday for the past 10 years.
He has also donated to several churches across Ogbomoso and sponsored both Christian and Muslim programmes on the radio station for a decade.
His interventions in the Muslim community include the construction of the central mosques in Ilajue, Surulere Local Government Area, and Olokoto, Oriire Local Government Area, as well as mosques in Ile Ogiri and Tara, Ogbomoso.
He also supported the foundation of the Ikoyi Central Mosque and provided roofing assistance to several Jumat mosques.
Open Salawu initiated the Itikaf programme at the Ogbomoso Central Mosque and has funded the feeding of 100 participants annually since 2023. He has also sponsored the feeding of 9,000 people every Ramadan for the past eight years.
On education, he is providing full scholarships to 20 students from primary school through university, with several beneficiaries already studying in higher institutions.
He also donated 50 laptops to indigent students across Ogbomoso and contributed N10million to the Ogbomoso Education Endowment Fund.
In recognition of his interest in the educational development of the zone, he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the proposed Ogbomoso University. Also, his empowerment initiatives have extended to traders and small-business owners.
Recently, he provided N1million each in start-up capital to several traders and extended financial assistance to other business operators.
Over the past three years, he has also distributed 300 bags of rice, alongside cash, to party members during festive periods.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he distributed food items worth more than N10million to residents.
His contributions to infrastructure include the distribution of 50 motorcycles, popularly known as Green Bikes, to beneficiaries across party lines, the drilling of boreholes in several communities and the provision of a 200KVA transformer at Okin Apa.
He is also credited with facilitating 46 kilometres of township roads in Ogbomoso, with construction work reportedly at an advanced stage.
On employment, his supporters said he facilitated appointments for sons and daughters of Ogbomoso into federal and state public services, including nine federal government appointments and 65 state government appointments.
They added that Open Salawu had consistently supported development programmes in Ogbomoso and maintained cordial relationships with traditional rulers and religious leaders across the zone.
Against the background, his supporters are urging Ogbomoso people to rally behind his candidacy, arguing that his record of community service echoes the circumstances that inspired the zone’s backing of Alao-Akala in 2003.
They expressed optimism that the support could strengthen Open Salawu’s political prospects as the APM prepares for the 2027 governorship contest.