The Oyo State governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, Abimbola Adekanmbi, has returned to Bodija International Market in Ibadan, visiting the shop where his mother sold elubo ikokoro during his childhood.
The visit formed part of Adekanmbi’s ongoing engagements with traders, community leaders and other stakeholders ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Adekanmbi arrived at the market with his wife, Dr Olukemi Adekanmbi, alongside party leaders, campaign officials, lawmakers and supporters.
The delegation was led into the market before paying a courtesy visit to the office of the Babaloja of Bodija Market, Alhaji S.A. Jimoh.
The most personal moment came when Adekanmbi reached his mother’s former shop, where traders dealing in elubo and other food commodities gathered to welcome him.
Addressing the traders, the APM candidate recalled his childhood experiences at the market and the sacrifices made by his mother, who he said contributed to his upbringing and education through her elubo business.
Adekanmbi said his story demonstrated the opportunities available to people from humble backgrounds, adding that his experience had shaped his understanding of the challenges facing traders and small business owners.
He also pledged to improve the business environment through better infrastructure, security and empowerment programmes if elected governor.
One of his major promises was the reconstruction of the internal road network within Bodija Market.
Adekanmbi said the market’s inner roads would be the first new road project he would undertake if elected, arguing that better access would improve the movement of goods and services.
The campaign team later moved to the Bodija plank market area, where Adekanmbi commissioned a fire station and fire truck linked to the legacy of the late Ibadan North federal lawmaker, Musiliu Olaide Akinremi, popularly known as Jagaban.
Adekanmbi described the facility as an important intervention for traders whose businesses face the risk of fire outbreaks and praised the late lawmaker for his contributions to the constituency.
The delegation subsequently proceeded to Bodija Isopako Town Hall, where the leadership of the plank market association presented its concerns and expectations.
Adekanmbi thanked the traders for their reception and promised to create policies that would make it easier for businesses to operate.
The engagement continued at the Oderinlo Ultramodern Complex and Motor Park, where he met market associations, trade groups and community representatives.
The Babaloja of Ibadan North Local Government, Alhaji Muniru Bolaji, expressed support for Adekanmbi and urged him to fulfil his commitments if elected.
The Babaloja of Bodija Market, Alhaji S.A. Jimoh, also appealed to Adekanmbi to remember the market in his administration.
Other market leaders, including the chairman of Bodija Market, Alhaji Dauda Adegbenjo, the chairman of the butchers’ association and the chairman of the Elubo Grinders Association, Alhaji Abass, presented similar expectations.
Representatives of the Arewa and Igbo communities also participated in the engagement.
Adekanmbi said he had listened to the concerns raised by the different groups and described himself as an “ambassador of market men and women” because of his background as the son of a market trader.
He thanked Governor Seyi Makinde for giving him the opportunity to contest under the APM platform and said he would seek to complete ongoing projects, sustain existing programmes and pursue further development across Oyo State.
Adekanmbi emerged as the APM’s consensus governorship candidate in May and has since intensified grassroots engagements across the state ahead of the 2027 election.
His Bodija visit combined a personal return to his childhood roots with a campaign message centred on market infrastructure, small businesses and continuity in governance.
