The 2027 All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Ogun State, Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi and a fellow party aspirant, Abayomi Hunye, on Tuesday clashed over Adeola’s threat to sue Hunye and a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Folake Marcus-Bello, over what he described as “libellous and false statements” made about him and his family on national television.
Yayi, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Kayode Odunaro, alleged that Hunye and Marcus-Bello, a former Nigerian ambassador to Zambia and Malawi, claimed during separate appearances on national television that he was an indigene of Ekiti State, among other allegations he described as libellous.
The senator consequently gave the two politicians 24 hours to publicly present evidence to support their claims concerning his state of origin or face legal action over the alleged false and libellous statements, which he said had been widely circulated on other media platforms.
Hunye, however, in a statement issued by his media aide, Femi Oyewale, said he stood by his claim that Adeola was from Ekiti and not Ogun State, adding that he welcomed the senator’s plan to sue him.
He described Adeola’s threat of legal action as a political jamboree aimed at making noise in the public.
“We are more than ready to meet Senator Adeola in a court of competent jurisdiction. Interestingly, it seems they are not well informed that the matter is already in court.
“Threatening us with a lawsuit, therefore, is like a political jamboree designed to make noise in the public,” Hunye said.
Marcus-Bello, speaking on a live television programme, said there was documentary evidence to prove her point.
“Senator Olamilekan is not from Yewa. It saddens me as a mother, as a politician, as a Nigerian that people will come out and tell blatant lies because they want a particular thing,” she said.
The former commissioner for women affairs said Yewa people deserved the governorship, adding that they must be represented by “a genuine son or daughter of the soil.”
Adeola, however, said he had watched “in utter disbelief” as people he barely knew made what he described as “assertive and outrageous lies” about his origin without proof.
“One falsely claimed on TV that I am from Ekiti, and when asked where exactly in Ekiti, went moronically blank and could not provide an answer.
“The other one was lying about the locations of the graves of my parents as if she was part of the undertakers at the burial, all in a futile effort to justify an unsustainable falsehood. Enough is enough. They should produce their evidence in 24 hours or be ready for my lawsuits,” he said.
While welcoming the planned suit, Hunye said that, for too long, the political space in Ogun West had been subjected to intimidation, high-handedness and the suppression of truth through media propaganda and sponsored attacks.
He added that Adeola’s 24-hour ultimatum and threat of legal action were “nothing more than a familiar diversionary tactic and a media gimmick” designed to bully dissenting voices and evade public accountability regarding his identity and eligibility to govern Ogun State.
Hunye said the issue of a candidate’s origin and eligibility was a constitutional matter and not a private affair.
“The issue of a candidate’s origin and eligibility is a matter of constitutional concern, not a private affair. It touches on the integrity of our democratic institutions and the aspirations of the good people of Ogun State, who deserve a leader whose roots and allegiance are indisputably local.
“We wish to remind the senator and his media handlers that truth is an absolute defence against libel. Rather than engaging in empty threats and grandstanding on national television, Senator Adeola should save his energy and approach the court immediately.
“We assure the public that we will not be cowed by intimidation or legal blackmail.
“In court, we will present robust, verifiable facts and documentary evidence substantiating our claims regarding his alleged Ekiti ancestry. The courtroom is where evidence is tested, not the pages of newspapers or sponsored broadcast interviews,” he said.
Hunye urged the people of Ogun State, particularly residents of Ogun West, to remain calm, saying that “the era of hoodwinking the electorate with superficial political gimmicks is over.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer and former member of the House of Representatives, Kayode Oladele, has faulted Marcus-Bello over her recent comments on Adeola, describing her allegations about the senator’s ancestry as legally indefensible, libellous and unsupported by evidence.
Oladele, in a separate statement on Tuesday, said Marcus-Bello’s attempt to portray Adeola as an indigene of Ekiti State amounted to a serious assertion of fact that she should be prepared to substantiate.
“Since Marcus-Bello is the one alleging that Senator Adeola is from Ekiti State, the burden is on her to prove the assertion with credible evidence. She cannot simply manufacture an ancestry for another person and then expect that person to disprove her allegation,” he said.
Oladele described Marcus-Bello’s claims as inaccurate and contradictory, insisting that Adeola’s paternal ancestral roots were firmly established in Pahayi and Isaga Orile, in Yewa South and Yewa North Local Government Areas of Ogun State respectively.
He added that Marcus-Bello’s remarks went beyond a personal attack on Adeola and amounted to an affront to the people of Yewa and Ogun West, who elected him to the Senate.
“The people of Ogun West voted for Senator Yayi as one of their own. They know him, and they know his roots. It is therefore condescending for anyone to suggest that the people of Ogun West do not know who belongs to them.
“They did not require Ambassador Marcus-Bello to tell them who their son was when they elected him to the Senate, where he currently chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and the good people of Ogun State certainly do not require that historical misadventure now,” he said.
Oladele recalled that controversies over the origins of governorship candidates were not new in Ogun politics, citing similar claims made by political opponents against former governors Gbenga Daniel, Olusegun Osoba and Ibikunle Amosun.
“Otunba Gbenga Daniel was at one time linked by opponents to Delta State, yet Ogun people elected him governor twice. Interestingly, Ambassador Marcus-Bello herself served under his administration, and it was OGD that nominated her for the ambassadorial position.
“Chief Olusegun Osoba also faced similar claims linking him with Osogbo, while Senator Ibikunle Amosun was confronted with speculation about his northern origin. Yet Ogun people made their constitutional choices and elected them as governors,” he said.
Oladele said it was surprising that a former diplomat had adopted what he described as a “xenophobic political argument.”
He said, “When we begin to divide Nigerians into those who are sufficiently indigenous to seek elective office and those who are supposedly outsiders, even where they satisfy the Constitution, we are travelling down a dangerous road.”
Oladele said Adeola’s family ties were publicly demonstrated last weekend when family members and associates gathered at Pahayi-Ilaro for the funeral of Michael Ogundimu, whom he described as the head of Adeola’s family.
“Ambassador Marcus-Bello is entitled to campaign for her candidate, but she should do so on facts, issues and records. Political disagreement should not become an excuse for promoting exclusion. On Yayi’s origin and on the Constitution, she goofed abysmally,” Oladele said.
He added, “Notwithstanding all these attacks against him, Senator Adeola will win convincingly in the forthcoming governorship election in Ogun State, to the chagrin of the PDP. The people will ultimately decide this election on performance, capacity, competence and confidence in the candidates.”
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
