By Ade Oyeyemi
The political battle over the 2027 governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress in Ogun State has taken a legal turn, with a former aspirant, Abayomi Hunye, challenging Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, over his previous declarations of state of origin.
Hunye has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, asking the court to examine electoral documents allegedly submitted under oath by Adeola during his previous contests.
The former aspirant is seeking a judicial review of Adeola’s past Independent National Electoral Commission nomination documents to establish the state of origin declared by the senator in earlier elections.
Hunye’s position was disclosed in a statement issued in Lagos by his media adviser, Femi Oyewole, following a briefing by his lead counsel, Olamide Victor.
Victor stressed that the suit was not aimed at questioning Adeola’s identity as a Yewa indigene but at determining whether his declarations in official electoral documents were consistent.
“We are not challenging the indigeneity of Senator Olamilekan Adeola as a Yewa son. What we are bringing before the court is a matter of statutory integrity and constitutional compliance,” the lawyer said.
He questioned what state Adeola declared as his state of origin in nomination forms submitted during his earlier political contests in Lagos State.
“He has held public elective offices over two decades. What state of origin did he declare under oath in his previous INEC nomination forms when he contested in Lagos State? Was it Ekiti State? Was it Lagos State?” Victor asked.
The legal team said certified copies of the relevant documents obtained from INEC records would be presented before the court during the proceedings.
The suit is the latest development in the dispute between Hunye and Adeola following the APC governorship primary conducted in Ogun State on May 21.
Adeola was declared winner of the primary with 304,055 votes out of 305,287 accredited voters, while Hunye was recorded as having no votes.
Hunye said he was not asking the court to declare him the party’s candidate but wanted the judiciary to examine the process and determine whether it complied with applicable electoral laws.
“I am not asking the media or the public to declare me the candidate. I am asking the judiciary to look at the process, examine the facts under the Electoral Act, and allow the law to take its proper course,” he said.
The former aspirant also challenged the APC state leadership’s claim that he had been suspended from the party on April 7, 2026, following a petition allegedly originating from his ward in Tube, Ipokia Local Government Area.
Hunye questioned why the party accepted his N50m payment for the governorship expression of interest and nomination forms on April 28 if his alleged suspension had already taken effect.
“If I was genuinely suspended on April 7, why did the party accept my N50m payment on April 28? Why was my application processed, and why was I cleared by the screening committee to contest the primary?” he asked.
According to him, he had exhausted the party’s internal dispute-resolution process after submitting petitions to the APC Governorship Primary Appeal Committee without receiving a response.
He subsequently turned to the court, saying the legal action was an attempt to obtain judicial determination of the issues surrounding the primary and the party’s internal processes.
Hunye also denied allegations that his legal action was being financed by the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in the state, Ladi Adebutu.
He described the lawsuit as an independent effort to seek clarification on the legality of the electoral process and uphold what he termed internal party democracy.
