Ogun guber: Yayi in eye of the storm

By Oluseye Ojo

**Only **months ago, many had thought that the forthcoming governorship election in Ogun State was going to be a straightforward coronation, a mere affirmation for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.

The Senator representing Ogun West at the National Assembly seemed to have everything going for him. The party was solidly behind him, and he had secured the support of his state governor and the backing of his party.

But there are renewed allegations by some of his political opponents that Ogun was never his true origin.

Senator Adeola entered the 2027 Ogun State governorship race with formidable political experience.

But his candidacy is being tested by a series of controversies, ranging from his ancestry and previous records to the conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary and allegations concerning his finances and emergence as gubernatorial candidate.

From Lagos to Ogun

Adeola began his political career in Lagos, where he served for two terms in the Lagos State House of Assembly where he represented Alimosho State Constituency II.

In 2011, he moved to the House of Representatives, representing people of Alimosho Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber.

He later became chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts. He moved to the Senate in 2015 and represented Lagos West. He retained the seat in 2019.

In 2023, he made a major political transition from Lagos to Ogun State. He contested and won the Ogun West senatorial seat.

As gathered, the movement provided his opponents with one of their most persistent lines of attack.

But Adeola’s position is that he did not move into Ogun as an outsider. He describes himself as a Yewa man and has identified Pahi, Ago-Isaga, in Ogun West, as his ancestral home.

He has repeatedly framed his movement from Lagos to Ogun as a return to his roots. In interviews separately published by some national dailies in May and October 2022, he said that although he had built his political career in Lagos, he is from Yewa in Ogun West and had decided to return home to serve his people. But his critics have been insisting that a politician, whose political identity was built largely in Lagos, is now seeking to lead Ogun and that questions about his origin deserve serious scrutiny.

2017 controversy on ancestry

Investigation revealed that Adeola’s disputed Ogun ancestry is not a new issue. It has been a subject of controversy since 2017, when he joined the Ogun governorship race.

In November that year, critics described him as ‘Tekobo’ (a stranger coming from Lagos into Ogun politics).

But he rejected the label during a stakeholders’ meeting at the palace of the Onimeko of Imeko, Oba Benjamin Alabi Oyeditan Olanite (Oyekakanku IV). Adeola argued that his political career in Lagos should not be held against him.

He argued that former governors Olabisi Onabanjo, Olusegun Osoba, Gbenga Daniel and Ibikunle Amosun, had all built connections in Lagos before or during their political careers.

He also mentioned his own record, and noted that he had served in the Lagos State House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate, as well as worked as a Special Adviser to the then Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, now President of Nigeria.

Barely two weeks later, descendants of Isaga from 32 communities across Ogun and neighbouring Lagos publicly came to his defence.

The intervention came reportedly against the backdrop of remarks attributed to the then governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, after a meeting with Yewa elders. Amosun purportedly said a ‘foreigner’ would not succeed him as a governor in 2019.

Further investigation showed that the origin question had also surfaced earlier in February 2017, when a national newspaper published an analysis, titled: ‘Adeola and the Burden of Ancestral Ties’.

The latest origin controversy

Former APC governorship aspirant for the 2027 race, Abayomi Hunye, a former Nigeria’s ambassador to Zambia and Malawi, who is currently a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Folake Marcus-Bello, as well as Wale Adedayo, a journalist and former chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, have publicly questioned Adeola’s Ogun origin. In separate television interviews, they alleged that Adeola is actually from Ekiti State.

Marcus-Bello, ex-Sole Administrator of Gateway Hotels, who made the allegations during a television appearance, alleged further that Adeola’s father was buried in Ekiti, while his mother was buried in Epe, Lagos State. She also alleged that records relating to Adeola’s employment at The Guardian Newspapers, identified Ekiti as his state of origin, and that Adeola had, at different times, identified himself with Ekiti, Lagos and Ogun.

Senator Adeola, through his media adviser, Kayode Odunaro, rejected the Ekiti-origin allegation and threatened legal action against those making it. He challenged his accusers to identify precisely where in Ekiti they claimed he came from and provide evidence.

But the former Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare in the state, appearing on a television programme, doubled down on her claims. She argued that any conflicting declarations made on oath could raise questions of perjury and challenged Adeola to take her to court.

The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, has also challenged Senator Adeola to go to court over claims concerning the senator’s ancestry

“I am a bona fide indigene of Ogun State. My mother is from here in Odogbolu, and my father, Sir Kensington Adebutu, is from Iperu, so no controversy about where I came from.

“It is, however, sad that the APC governorship candidate is threatening to sue people because they said that he is from Ekiti State.

“Did he think that these people were talking about what is not real? I am daring their lawyers to sue me

“I am waiting for their lawyer to also sue me so that we can go and present all our documents in the court of law. They first claimed that they are from Joga; later they said Ishaga, Ilaro and all that. I am waiting for their lawyer to write to me so that we can show the whole world the truth,” he stated.

Adeola step-mother’s intervention

On Friday September 18, 2026, one Alhaja Aminatu Abiola, who claimed to be Adeola’s stepmother, appeared in a viral video, in which she disputed the Ekiti ancestry’s claim for him.

According to her, Adeola’s father, Ayinde, was not from Ekiti and was buried in Lagos, while his mother was from Ogun.

As gathered, his step-mother’s intervention came amid the renewed controversy surrounding his Ogun ancestry in September 2026.

Adeola subsequently challenged his accusers to produce evidence within 24 hours or face legal action.

Aminatu Abiola, in the viral video, identified herself as the first wife of Adeola’s father, Oteko Ayinde. She said she hails from Iworoko, Ekiti State.

According to her, she married Ayinde first and had two children with him, Ayi, also known as Iya Ibeji, and Fatima, now deceased.

She said Ayinde later married another woman, Mujida, from Ijebu, whom she described as his second wife.

Abiola said Ayinde was not from Ekiti and challenged anyone claiming to know Adeola’s family house in Ekiti to come forward and identify it.

She said Ayinde’s mother was Alhaja Lamlatu, whom she identified as being from Owo in Ondo State.

“We buried Ayinde in Lagos, not Ekiti,” she said.

She added that Ayinde died more than 30 years ago, when Adeola was still young and had not completed university or entered politics.

Abiola also said Adeola’s mother was from Abeokuta in Ogun State. She added that Adeola is a son of Yewa.

Abiola also made a personal revelation about Adeola. She said his birth name was Sule and that he was born a Muslim. According to her, he later became a Christian and adopted the name Solomon Olamilekan.

She argued that Ayinde’s early death prevented him from taking all his children back to the family home in Ogun.

Indigeneship and eligibility for governorship seat

Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, sets out the qualifications for election as governor.

Among other requirements, a candidate must be a Nigerian citizen by birth, have attained the age of 35, be a member of and sponsored by a political party, and have been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

As gathered, questions involving false declarations, statutory requirements or other grounds for disqualification could raise separate legal issues, depending on the facts and evidence.

The primary that produced 304,055 votes

Governor Dapo Abiodun announced Adeola as the APC consensus governorship candidate on April 13, 2026, following consultations within the party.

Also, at the end of May 21 governorship primary in the state, Adeola was declared to have scored 304,055 votes, while a challenger, Abayomi Hunye was allocated zero votes.

Hunye rejected the outcome and alleged that the process had been predetermined. He also alleged that some of his supporters were prevented from voting and that he was pressured by party figures to withdraw. He later approached the Federal High Court to challenge the process.

Court cases deepen controversy

On September 9, 2026, Adeola’s media adviser, Kayode Odunaro, announced that four suits challenging the senator’s 2027 governorship candidacy had been discontinued.

According to him, one of the cases was withdrawn on August 24, while the other three were discontinued on September 7, all in open court, with notices served on the defendants.

But on September 15, the chairmen of the parties linked to two of the suits, Abiodun Akerele of BOOT and Solomon Adeyemi of Young Progressives Party (YPP), said they neither authorised, nor consented to the withdrawal and maintained that their case was still being pursued.

The Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello episode

Another controversy arose from the fallout involving former Ogun Central senator, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello. As gathered, she had joined the APC and expressed interest in the governorship before Adeola emerged as the party’s preferred candidate. She thereafter left the APC for the PDP.

Adeola later alleged that she sought reimbursement for expenses incurred during her governorship consultations.

But Obasanjo-Bello said Adeola contacted her after becoming the consensus candidate and requested a meeting with her and her supporters. According to her, the groups discussed several issues, including reimbursement for campaign expenses and political recognition. But she personally told Adeola, according to reports, she did not require anything from him.

The money questions

Marcus-Bello also alleged financial impropriety at the Senate level against Adeola. She claimed that some federal funds and projects meant for other parts of the country were redirected to Ogun State, while he chaired the Senate Committee on Appropriations. She said she had documents to support the allegations.

But Adeola’s camp has rejected the allegations. It described them as unsupported and challenged his accusers to produce evidence.

APC, supporters stand by Yayi

Meanwhile the Ogun State APC, through its Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi, reaffirmed on Sunday August 23, that Adeola, is its recognised governorship candidate. He added that his name, alongside that of his running mate, Alhaja Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun, had been uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.

“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,” Sanusi stated.

Many of his supporters have insisted that no matter the controversies against the senator, he remains their preferred choice for governor.

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