ABEOKUTA – An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Ogun State and former Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Hon. Kayode Oladele, has warned former APC governorship aspirant, Hon. Abayomi Hunye, that history may not be kind to him over his continued insistence on pursuing his governorship ambition after the party concluded its nomination process.
Oladele was reacting to Hunye’s declaration that he remained in the 2027 Ogun State governorship race and his unveiling of Otunba Abayomi Odunowo as his running mate, despite the emergence of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the APC governorship candidate.
In a statement on Sunday, Oladele said the APC had concluded the process of selecting its governorship candidate and had forwarded Adeola’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in accordance with the Electoral Act.
He described Hunye’s latest move as an “exercise in futility,” insisting that it could neither create another APC ticket nor alter the decision already taken by the party.
Oladele said, “The APC had nominated its governorship candidate for Ogun State and forwarded his name to INEC. Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi is our party’s candidate.
“What Hon. Hunye is presently doing is a one-man show. His activities do not represent the position or programme of the APC in Ogun State.
“He can pursue whatever legal remedies that are available to him, but unveiling a running mate cannot create another APC governorship ticket. The party has spoken, the process has been concluded, and the APC has moved on.”
Oladele posited that Hunye should be particularly mindful of the historical implications of his actions as an indigene of Ogun West, which, he noted, had yet to produce a democratically elected governor since Ogun State’s creation 50 years ago.
According to him, the aspiration for an Ogun West governor has transcended individual political ambition and become a collective struggle founded on equity, justice and fairness.
“History will not be kind to anyone from Ogun West who, because of personal ambition, chooses to stand against an aspiration our people have pursued for 50 years.
“This is perhaps the greatest opportunity Ogun West has ever had to produce the governor of Ogun State. The aspiration is no longer that of Senator Adeola Yayi alone. It has become a collective aspiration of the people of Ogun West and is receiving growing acceptance across Ogun Central and Ogun East.
“At such a critical moment, every genuine son and daughter of Ogun West should be working towards unity and the realisation of this historic objective rather than embarking on a political adventure that can only create unnecessary distraction,” he said.
The former member of the House of Representatives maintained that Hunye’s activities could neither alter the decision of the APC nor derail what he described as the growing political movement behind Yayi across the state.
He urged Hunye to reconsider his position, saying there was still an opportunity for him to place the collective interest of Ogun West and the APC above personal ambition.
“There comes a time in politics when personal ambition must give way to collective interest. Ogun West has waited for 50 years, and this is not the time for any of us to put personal considerations above the historic aspiration of our people.
“The train has left the station, and the APC is firmly united behind Senator Adeola. Hunye must decide whether he wants to be remembered as a patriot who stood with his people at a historic moment or as the man who allowed personal ambition to place him on the wrong side of Ogun West’s 50-year struggle for equity, justice and fairness.
“The verdict of history can be unforgiving, and no political ambition is worth carrying such a burden,” Oladele declared.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State chapter of the APC formally disowned Hunye’s claim to the party’s governorship ticket, declaring that Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola remains its recognised candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
In a statement signed by the state APC Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi, the party said it had been drawn to statements and claims by Abayomi Semako Hunye, in which he presented himself as the APC governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party said, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Ogun State APC wishes to state clearly that Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, is the duly recognised governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Ogun State for the 2027 election.”
According to the APC, Adeola emerged from the party’s governorship primary with 304,055 votes out of the 305,287 accredited voters who participated in the exercise.
The party added that Adeola subsequently selected Mrs Kudirat Abiodun Adegunwa-Balogun as his running mate and that their names had been submitted to INEC as the party’s governorship candidate and deputy governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
The Ogun APC therefore dissociated itself from any contrary claim or declaration by Hunye or any other individual purporting to be the party’s governorship candidate.
