The political space of the Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, took a dramatic turn on Saturday, August 22, when a former governorship aspirant, Abayomi Semako Hunye, unveiled his running mate for the 2027 governorship election.

Hunye, who is the immediate past Managing Director of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority, OGWAMA, announced Abayomi Odunowo as his deputy governorship candidate under the umbrella of the APC at a press conference, dismissing rumours that he had stepped down from the race.

Recall that the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, during a strategic caucus meeting attended by party leaders and stakeholders on April 13, announced Olamilekan Solomon Adeola as the consensus candidate of the party for the 2027 governorship election in the state.

The meeting was attended by all three former governors, Olusegun Osoba, Ibikunle Amosun and Gbenga Daniel, as well as APC governorship aspirants: Iyabo Obasanjo, Gboyega Isiaka, Tunde Lemo and Isiak Akinlade.

Hunye, a politician of Yewa extraction like Adeola, did not attend the caucus meeting.

Governor Abiodun, in his speech, said, “Nothing will give me more joy than to fulfil all the dreams of my predecessors and ensure that the West produces the next governor. I look forward to the night before my departure from office, when I will sit with those who will attend the ceremony of my successor.

“I will also sit proudly with all my former governors at the swearing-in of a new APC governor.

“On that note, permit me to unveil the person we have all agreed is truly deserving of being the next flag bearer of our dear state, Senator Solomon Adeola.”

Two weeks later, the former commissioner went against the consensus arrangement and obtained the governorship nomination form.

The N50 million form was obtained on his behalf by a third party in Abuja.

However, during the governorship primary held in May, the chairman of the Ogun State Governorship Electoral Committee, Wale Ohu, announced that Adeola secured 304,055 votes out of the 305,287 accredited voters who participated in the exercise.

Ohu said Adeola’s only challenger, Abayomi Semako Hunye, polled no votes in the primary conducted across the state’s 20 local government areas.

Adeola appreciated former Ogun State Governor, Olusegun Osoba, and the incumbent Governor, Dapo Abiodun, for the roles they played in facilitating his emergence as the party’s consensus candidate.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations pledged not to take his emergence for granted, assuring party members and the people of Ogun State that he would consolidate on the developmental strides of the current administration while taking the state to greater heights.

Two months after the endorsement of Yayi, the party also announced Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun as its deputy governorship candidate.

Hunye Camp Rejects Result, Claims Victory With 453,765 Votes

Reacting to the outcome of the primary election, the campaign organisation of Hunye rejected the result, insisting that it did not reflect the true wishes of participating party members.

In a rejoinder issued on behalf of the Abayomi Semako Hunye Campaign and Supporters’ Movement, the group described the declaration of Adeola as unacceptable and inconsistent with reports allegedly obtained from its agents across the 236 wards in Ogun State.

According to the statement, information collated by its party representatives indicated that Hunye secured 453,765 votes, as against the 304,055 votes announced for Senator Adeola.

They maintained that the figures publicly released in favour of Adeola could not be regarded as conclusive proof of a free, fair, credible or uncontested democratic exercise.

It stressed that Hunye was a duly screened, cleared and recognised aspirant of the APC before the conduct of the governorship primary election.

DAILY POST reports that Hunye later dragged the party and Adeola to court to nullify the primary election, citing widespread irregularities and the disenfranchisement of his supporters after he was allocated zero votes.

Hunye, however, has unveiled his running mate, insisting that the matter was not settled and that he was still in the race.

DAILY POST reports that while intra-party rivalries frequently spill into the courtroom, the legal boundaries governing candidate disputes have tightened significantly under recent legislative alterations.

Under Section 84(14) of the Electoral Act 2022, any party member seeking to challenge a primary election outcome must first satisfy the requirement of locus standi by demonstrating full, physical participation as an aspirant.

Furthermore, even where procedural flaws are established in court, Section 285(13) of the 1999 Constitution (Fourth Alteration) explicitly limits judicial remedies.

The constitutional provision strictly dictates that no election tribunal or court shall, under any circumstance, declare a person a winner if they did not participate in every stage of the electoral process.

According to Hunye, his decision followed these provisions in the amended Electoral Act.

He said, “I looked at the new amended constitution. It said, no court will oblige any candidate or aspirant that is challenging any candidate in court that refuses to participate in the process. The first process was the primary and the second process starting on the 9th of September is the campaign.

“So if you are sure that you are actually a candidate or, in turn, you have gone to court, you must also participate in the next phase of the election process.

“And to this note, so that at the end of the day, nobody will get to the court and say, yes, he is qualified, he met all the criteria. But one thing, there was no evidence of campaigning.”

Adeola Remains APC Governorship Candidate for Ogun — Party Reacts

Chairman of the APC, Ogun chapter, Yemi Sanusi, on Sunday issued a disclaimer, maintaining that Adeola remained the duly recognised candidate of the party ahead of the 2027 election.

Sanusi stated that the names of Senator Adeola and Mrs Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun had subsequently been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s governorship candidate and running mate for the 2027 election.

The party dissociated itself from any contrary claim or declaration by Hunye or any other individual purporting to be the party’s governorship candidate.

He said, “The attention of the Ogun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to statements and claims by one Abayomi Semako Hunye, who has been presenting himself as the governorship candidate of the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“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.”

“We urge party members, supporters and the general public to disregard such claims and rely only on official communications from the Ogun State APC and the relevant electoral authorities,” he added.

Responding to the party, Hunye said he never declared himself the APC governorship candidate, noting that his position had consistently been clear and that the matter remained before a court of competent jurisdiction.

He argued that the issues surrounding the emergence of the party’s governorship candidate were still subject to judicial determination.

According to him, the law is clear that parties involved in disputes must allow the judicial process to run its full course and that, until the court delivers its judgment and the matter is conclusively resolved in accordance with the law, no individual or group should seek to pre-empt, influence or substitute public opinion for the decision of the court.

“Therefore, the contest over the emergence of the APC Governorship Candidate in Ogun State cannot be regarded as conclusively settled while the relevant legal proceedings remain pending.

“The battle for the ticket, in legal terms, is not over until the court has spoken and the legal process has been concluded,” he stated.

Hunye Is Not Our Member, He’s an Impostor — APC National Body

Meanwhile, the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru has described Hunye as an impostor, adding that he was currently on suspension as a member of the APC.

According to the APC, Hunye was suspended from the party on April 7, 2026, for engaging in activities injurious to the party’s image, anti-party activities and deliberate actions aimed at causing disaffection and division among loyal members.

Basiru stated that the suspension followed a petition from his ward, Tube Ward, in Ipokia Local Government Area of the state, ratified by the Ipokia Local Government Area and formally approved by the Ogun State Working Committee.

He added that the suspension was communicated to the national headquarters of the party.

“His recent self-declaration as the governorship candidate of our party for the 2027 election is completely false, unauthorised and a mischievous act aimed at misleading the public.

“Consequently, he lacks the legal and moral standing to represent the APC in any capacity. We reiterate that, following the validly conducted primary election of the APC, the duly nominated and elected governorship candidate for the 2027 Ogun State election is Senator Adeola Olamilekan, with his running mate being Balogun Abiodun.

“This is in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, and the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,” the APC National Secretary said.

Hunye Challenges APC Over Alleged Suspension, Questions Participation in Primary

The parallel guber candidate, Hunye, challenged the party to explain what he described as contradictions surrounding its claim that he was suspended on April 7, 2026.

He argued that the announcement was part of efforts to undermine his legal challenge to the outcome of the party’s governorship primary.

According to him, he was never formally notified of any disciplinary action and the party failed to follow due process before announcing the suspension.

“If they say they have suspended me, I have not received any letter. No letter was sent to me, and before you suspend anybody, there must be a panel.

“You must let me know what I’ve done. Then there will be a committee that will be sent out to look at that,” he stated.

He opined that the suspension information might not have represented a properly ratified decision of the party’s National Working Committee.

“I’m not sure that information is right. I want to believe that it wasn’t a decision of the National Working Committee,” he said.

Hunye said his decision was to publicly clarify his position following reports that he had withdrawn from the governorship contest after an alleged settlement had been reached, insisting that the matter remained before the court and that no candidate could be regarded as finally determined until judgment was delivered.

“Ogun State candidature for the governorship election is still hanging at the court. The court is going to determine who becomes the candidate and the case is still on. That’s exactly what I said on Saturday, and there is a way to verify the information that I got.

“I was told that I have stepped down and that they have settled me and things like that. That is why I came up to tell everybody that the case is still in court and until that judgment is delivered, no candidate is decided.

“Whatever the APC likes, let them do. They are trying to intimidate me so that I can drop the case, and I will not.”

“If I was suspended in April, I came to the national party secretariat, ggot a form there on 28th of April,” he said.

According to him, the party sold him the governorship nomination form, collected the required payment and subsequently allowed him to participate in the screening process.

Hunye said he was screened and cleared alongside other aspirants, arguing that the party’s actions at the time contradicted the later claim that he was already suspended.

“They collected money and gave me a form. On the 15th again, I went for screening. You screened me.

“And at the end of the day, you cleared me that I’m successful. And then, even in the midst of all the successful candidates, I was cleared.

“My number was 62 and Yayi’s number was 53, and there were some there that were disqualified,” Hunye stated.

He maintained that there was no withdrawal from the contest in his name and that he participated in the governorship primary.

According to him, the unexplained zero recorded against his name, despite being physically present and participating in the primary, was one of the central issues behind his legal challenge.

“I was not in the police station. I was not in the hospital. How will I pay 50 million naira for something, and I will be absent there? And how would they now record zero against my name?” He queried.

He said the questions being raised in court relate to information contained in Adeola’s electoral forms and his political history, particularly his years of public service in Lagos State.

“There are so many issues. In all that he filled, he was serving in Lagos State as an assembly member.

“He served for eight years as an assembly member in Lagos State. House of Assembly in Lagos State. Eight years as a House of Rep also in Lagos State. Four years in the House of Senate in the same Lagos State,” Hunye said.

He said Adeola had spent about 23 years in public office and that his records across different elections formed part of the questions being raised before the court.

Hunye, however, insisted that the party’s leadership could not simply push him out of the APC after his years of involvement in its political struggles.

“There is no way the APC, the so-called leaders, as I’m saying this… they can’t take us away from this party,” he added.

When asked whether he would support Adeola if the court ruled against him, Hunye responded: “Why not? But if it rules in my favour, I’m going to embrace everybody.”

APC Seeks Arrest, Prosecution of Hunye

Shortly after, the party petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu, demanding the investigation, arrest and prosecution of Hunye.

The ruling party stated that Hunye had impersonated and declared himself as the governorship candidate in Ogun State.

It insisted that Adeola remained the authentic and only governorship candidate of the party, having participated in the consensus primary of the party held on May 22, 2026.

The petition, dated August 24, addressed to the IGP and signed by the Director of Administration, Áyoola Olajolo, urged the police to restrain him from further parading himself as a candidate to prevent a total breakdown of law and order in Ogun State.

The petition read: “I write to bring to your urgent attention a grave threat to public peace and electoral integrity involving one Mr. Abayomi Hunye (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Subject’).

“The Subject has notoriously and unlawfully taken to the public domain, including print and social media, parading himself as the governorship candidate of our party for the forthcoming January 2027 election.

“I wish to state unequivocally that this claim is false, fraudulent and a deliberate act of impersonation designed to mislead the public and destabilise the peace of Ogun State.”

It added: “In view of the foregoing, I most respectfully pray that you use your good office to direct the immediate intervention of the Nigeria Police Force to: Invite Mr. Abayomi Hunye for immediate questioning regarding the aforementioned infringements and probable commission of offences against Nigerian laws.

“Cause him to be prosecuted after investigation for impersonation, conduct likely to cause a breach of peace and violation of the Electoral Act, 2026.

“Restrain him from further parading himself as a candidate to prevent a total breakdown of law and order in Ogun State.

“I pledge the full cooperation of the APC national headquarters and the Ogun State chapter of our party with the police during the investigation and am ready to provide further witness statements as may be required.”