By Annette Ikponmwonba | October 12, 2026
Key Points
· Former senator Iyabo Obasanjo has appointed Gbolahan Macjob, a former senior BBC journalist, as her spokesperson
· The appointment was announced in a statement from her media office on Monday
· Macjob is expected to draw on his journalism and media experience to communicate her positions, activities and public engagements
· The move comes amid renewed political activity involving Obasanjo, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo
· Obasanjo represented Ogun Central Senatorial District from 2007 to 2011 and returned to active politics in 2026 after an academic career in the United States
· Macjob is also a filmmaker and is keen to scale up the creative sector across Ogun Central
Main Story
A former senior journalist with the British Broadcasting Corporation, Gbolahan Macjob, has been appointed spokesperson to former senator Iyabo Obasanjo. The appointment was announced in a statement from her media office, shared with PUNCH Online on Monday.
The statement said Macjob, who has worked with the BBC, was expected to draw on his journalism and media experience in communicating Obasanjo’s positions, activities and public engagements. “His professional profile and published work indicate experience in broadcast journalism, including contributions to BBC reporting,” the statement said.
Obasanjo represented Ogun Central Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011 and previously served as Ogun State Commissioner for Health. She later pursued an academic career in the United States before returning to active politics in 2026, according to the statement.
The Issues
The appointment reflects a growing trend in Nigerian politics of recruiting professionals with international media backgrounds to shape political communication. As public figures rely more on strategic messaging and timely engagement with the press, a former BBC journalist offers credibility and experience across both traditional and digital platforms.
It also signals that Obasanjo is serious about her political comeback. Having spent years in academia abroad, she is rebuilding her public profile, and putting communication at the centre of that effort suggests she intends to be visible and active in the political space, Macjob’s filmmaking background adds a local dimension, linking her political brand to the creative sector, which the statement described as Nigeria’s second-largest employer after agriculture.
What’s Being Said
The statement from Obasanjo’s media office described the appointment as placing media communication at the centre of her public engagement, noting that Macjob’s experience in news gathering and broadcasting could be relevant to managing communications across multiple platforms.
It added that the appointment highlighted the movement of professionals from international media organisations into Nigeria’s political communication space. The statement also said Macjob, as a filmmaker, would be keen to scale up the creative sector across Ogun Central.
What’s Next
Attention will turn to how Macjob shapes Obasanjo’s public messaging as her political activity picks up, and to what specific political ambitions she signals in the coming weeks, It also remains to be seen whether his creative sector focus translates into concrete proposals for Ogun Central as part of her wider political platform.
Bottom Line
By bringing in a former BBC journalist as spokesperson, Iyabo Obasanjo is putting communication at the heart of her return to politics, signalling a more strategic and media-conscious approach as she re-enters the Ogun political scene.
