The battle over the All Progressives Congress governorship ticket in Ogun State has taken a fresh legal turn, with former aspirant Abayomi Hunye dragging Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Hunye wants the court to examine Adeola’s previous electoral documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission under oath, particularly the portions relating to his state of origin.
The former aspirant is asking the court to establish what Adeola declared as his state of origin when he previously contested elections in Lagos State and whether those declarations are consistent with his present claim of Ogun State origin.
Hunye’s legal team said the case was not questioning Adeola’s identity as a Yewa indigene, but was focused on what it described as possible contradictions in sworn public documents.
His lawyer, Olamide Victor, said the court would be asked to examine certified copies of the relevant INEC documents.
“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 controversy adds a new dimension to the bitter fight between Hunye and Adeola over the APC ticket for the 2027 Ogun governorship election.
Adeola emerged from the May 21 APC primary with 304,055 votes out of 305,287 accredited voters, while Hunye was officially recorded as scoring zero.
But Hunye has continued to challenge the process, insisting that he first pursued the party’s internal appeal mechanisms before approaching the court.
He is also questioning the circumstances surrounding his alleged suspension from the APC.
According to Hunye, the party said he was suspended on April 7, 2026, following a petition from his ward in Tube, Ipokia Local Government Area.
He, however, pointed to April 28, when he was allowed to pay N50 million for the governorship expression of interest and nomination forms, weeks after the alleged suspension.
“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.
Hunye said he was not asking the court to declare him the APC candidate but wanted the legality of the process leading to Adeola’s emergence determined.
The APC has, however, maintained that Adeola remains its authentic governorship candidate and that Hunye remains suspended from the party.
Hunye has also rejected claims that the legal battle is being financed by the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, insisting that he is pursuing the case independently.
The lawsuit now puts Adeola’s previous INEC declarations under judicial scrutiny, with the documents expected to become central to the case.
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