ABEOKUTA — The legal battle surrounding the 2027 Ogun State governorship contest has taken a fresh turn, with the legal adviser to All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, Hon. Abayomi Semako Hunye, accusing the party’s candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, of allegedly making contradictory declarations in sworn electoral documents.
The lawyer, Mr Victor Olamide, said the issue before the court was not simply a dispute over Adeola’s ancestry or state of origin, but whether the senator had made materially inconsistent declarations in official documents submitted under oath at different stages of his political career.
His comments came amid Adeola’s threat of legal action against Hunye and former Nigerian Ambassador Folake Marcus-Bello over claims concerning his alleged Ekiti ancestry. Adeola had challenged his accusers to produce evidence or face lawsuits.
Olamide, however, maintained that the appropriate place to resolve the controversy was the courtroom, where sworn documents and other evidence could be examined.
“We are not challenging the indigenship of Senator Solomon Adeola; we are saying he has committed perjury,” the lawyer alleged.
According to him, the Hunye legal team was interested in examining declarations allegedly made by Adeola during his earlier political career, particularly documents connected with his elective positions in Lagos State before his subsequent political activities in Ogun.
The lawyer questioned whether Adeola had consistently supplied the same information concerning his state of origin and other personal particulars in his various electoral declarations.
“On your INEC form, you must swear an oath that everything provided is true. If you held elective office in Lagos State since 2003 and filled out sworn declarations, which state did you claim in those previous forms? Was it Ekiti, Lagos or Ogun State?” Olamide asked.
He argued that if the relevant documents eventually showed materially contradictory declarations, the issue would become a matter for judicial determination.
“If he claimed another state in those sworn declarations and is now claiming Ogun State, that constitutes perjury under our laws,” he alleged.
The lawyer challenged Adeola to abandon what he described as media exchanges and take the matter before the court.
“Rather than issuing 24-hour ultimatums and grandstanding on national television, Senator Adeola should prepare to defend his sworn declarations and submit his credentials for full judicial scrutiny in open court,” he said.
Adeola had, through his media adviser, Chief Kayode Odunaro, given Hunye and Marcus-Bello 24 hours to produce evidence backing claims about his alleged Ekiti origin or face legal action. Adeola described the allegations as false and defamatory.
Hunye subsequently welcomed the threatened lawsuit, insisting that he was prepared to defend his position in court and that documentary evidence would be presented if the matter came before the judiciary.
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In another contentious claim, Olamide warned that Adeola could become a “political flight risk” to the APC if the party proceeds with his candidacy without adequately addressing the various legal controversies surrounding him.
The lawyer alleged that the senator was carrying “a lot of baggage” in the form of legal disputes and controversies which, he claimed, could be exploited by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2027 campaign.
“We are saying that if the APC allows Senator Adeola to proceed into the 2027 governorship election without resolving these issues, he may become a political flight risk to the party,” Olamide said.
He alleged that the opposition could make the pending legal controversies a major campaign issue, particularly if questions surrounding Adeola’s eligibility, origin and previous declarations remain unresolved.
The controversy over Adeola’s eligibility has already generated litigation and competing claims from political actors. In September, the Ogun chapters of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and BOOT Party also denied claims that they had withdrawn legal challenges concerning Adeola’s candidacy and state-of-origin questions.
Meanwhile, the PDP’s 2027 governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, and Marcus-Bello have publicly challenged Adeola to pursue his threatened legal action over the disputed origin claims.
Olamide said the Hunye camp was prepared to allow the courts to determine the authenticity, meaning and legal consequences of any conflicting documents that may be presented.
He stressed that the legal process should take precedence over political statements, adding that any allegation of perjury must ultimately be established through the appropriate judicial process.
The latest development adds another layer to the growing political and legal contest within Ogun APC ahead of the 2027 governorship election, with the competing camps now preparing to test their claims through litigation and documentary evidence.
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