- Asks APC to explain how a "suspended member" was allowed to pay ₦50m form fee, undergo screening, and participate in primary election.
- Denies sponsorship by PDP’s Ladi Adebutu or waging war against Yayi.
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Hon. Abayomi Semako Hunye, an All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ogun State, has broken his silence over the controversy surrounding the party’s May 21 primary, dismissing claims that he was validly suspended or that he is acting as a proxy to sabotage the political interests of the Yewa region.
Addressing a press conference through a statement issued on Friday by his Media Adviser, Femi Oyewale, Hunye challenged the party’s leadership to produce documentary evidence proving he was served a suspension notice before he was permitted to purchase nomination forms, undergo screening, and contest the primary.
The political feud comes amidst a mounting crisis in the Ogun APC following the declaration of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the winner of the May 21 governorship primary election.
The APC had claimed that Hunye was suspended from the party on April 7, 2026, following a petition from a parallel ward in Tube, Ipokia Local Government Area. The party subsequently petitioned the Inspector-General of Police on August 24, alleging impersonation and conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace after Hunye challenged the primary outcome in court.
However, Hunye described the party’s timeline as contradictory and riddled with logical flaws, questioning how an allegedly suspended member was allowed to participate fully in the party's nomination processes.
"If the APC maintains that I was validly suspended on April 7, then the relevant documents should be produced and the complete me chronology established," Hunye stated.
"The APC says I was suspended on April 7. Yet, on April 28, 2026, I obtained the party’s governorship nomination documents from the APC National Secretariat after paying the required ₦50 million. If I had already been suspended, why was I permitted to obtain the nomination documents? Why was my application processed? Why was I cleared during the screening?"
Hunye also raised strong objections to the official primary results, which recorded him as having scored zero votes. He insisted that party loyalists voted for him during the exercise, with some allegedly facing harassment and violence.
"Is it possible for an aspirant to vote against himself?" Hunye asked, demanding that the party make public the accreditation records, result sheets, and agent signatures from the primary.
He further rejected allegations that his legal action against the primary outcome was being sponsored by Hon. Ladi Adebutu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), or that he was working to undermine Yewa’s chances of producing the next governor.
"That allegation is false. I have never entered into any arrangement with Hon. Ladi Adebutu to pursue my political ambition, nor has anybody sponsored me to attack Yewa interests," he said, challenging his accusers to provide concrete evidence.
Defending his decision to approach the Federal High Court in Abuja, Hunye stated that he only sought judicial intervention after the APC's internal appeal committee failed to respond to his petition and paid public notices following the primary.
He maintained that his suit is not a personal attack on Senator Solomon Adeola, but a demand for transparency and adherence to party rules.
"I have not secretly appointed myself as the APC candidate. I have openly challenged the process through which the candidate was produced. There is a fundamental difference between saying 'I am the recognised candidate' and saying 'I am challenging the process through which the candidate was produced,'" Hunye clarified.
He appealed to the party leadership to stop treating political disagreements as treason and urged his supporters to remain peaceful while awaiting the court's verdict.
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