Odo-Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe Fed Constituency: Olugbile Declares 2027 Bid

A public health physician and international development expert, Dr. Michael Olugbile (DMO), has formally declared his intention to contest the Odo-Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections on the platform of the Accord party.

Dr Olugbile, a native of Okuku in Odo-Otin Local Government Area, said his decision is rooted in a long-standing commitment to public service, community development, and equitable representation across the constituency.

A Harvard University-trained public health professional with over 20 years of experience in global development and health care delivery, Olugbile currently serves in a position overseeing a multi-donor continental health portfolio across all 55 countries within the African Union. He previously spent more than 12 years as a Senior Health Specialist at the World Bank, supervising large-scale health programmes across Nigeria, West Africa and the Horn of Africa.

Despite his international engagements, Dr Olugbile has maintained a strong connection to grassroots development in his home constituency.

Through sustained self-funded initiatives, he has implemented wide-ranging programmes focused on education, women empowerment, and community health across Odo-Otin, Ifelodun, and Boripe LGAs.

Among these interventions is the sponsorship of more than 1,000 students for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) since 2017, alongside scholarships supporting about 250 students (called DMO Scholars) across all public secondary schools in the Federal Constituency. To support the State government and to bridge the gap in teachers, since 2017, he recruited and deployed 20 ad-hoc teachers to support underserved public primary and secondary schools across his constituency.

He also organized annual “Teacher of the Year” recognition awards across the three local governments in collaboration with Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and conducted free medical outreach programmes that provided services to about 5,000 residents in all 38 political wards within the constituency.

Speaking on the inspiration behind his political journey, Dr Olugbile recalled that his interest in elective office began in 2013 during a United Kingdom-funded assignment through Abt Associates.

“It all began in 2013 while I was travelling from Kano to Dutse, Jigawa, on a development assignment,” he said. “That moment sparked a deeper reflection about service and representation. Since then, I have not been disobedient to that calling.”

He has since contested the House of Representatives seat in the 2015, 2019 and 2023 elections, first under the All Progressives Congress (APC) and later as the Accord Party candidate in 2023.

Over the years, his political team – popularly known as Team DMO – has campaigned across all 38 wards of the constituency, building an extensive grassroots network and strengthening the visibility of the Accord Party in the area.

Having contested as the House of Representatives candidate under Accord in 2023, political observers note that Dr Olugbile helped popularize the Accord Party in the constituency and with the arrival of Governor Ademola Adeleke and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the party’s political coalition, Accord is in stronger position to win the House of Representatives election in the Constituency.

Beyond electoral politics, Dr Olugbile has also served in public administration. Between 2017 and 2018, he was Senior Technical Adviser to the Governor of Osun State and led the establishment of a Programme Delivery Unit that coordinated donor-funded development programmes during a critical fiscal period in the state.

Supporters opined that his longstanding grassroots engagement and professional experience position him as a strong candidate capable of strengthening political support for Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election bid in the 2026 governorship election.

According to political stakeholders in Odo-Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe Federal Constituency, Dr Olugbile’s deep engagement with teachers’ unions, student leaders, youth groups, religious organizations, and beneficiaries of his education and empowerment initiatives across the constituency provides a strong mobilization network that can significantly contribute to the governor’s electoral support base.

Dr Olugbile also addressed the longstanding debate over political representation within the constituency.

According to him, since 1999, Boripe LGA has held the House of Representatives seat for 13 years, while Ifelodun LGA has held it for 12 years and currently occupying the position. Odo-Otin LGA, he noted, has held the position for only three years, an arrangement cut short by the death of Hon Aderanti Alabi – a native of Oyan town.

“For over two decades, Odo-Otin has not enjoyed equitable representation