Ogun APC Leaders Threatened Hunye, the aspirant says, as he challenges Solomon Adeola’s emergence and insists his court case is about due process
Abayomi Hunye, an All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant in Ogun State, has alleged that senior party leaders threatened him to abandon his 2027 governorship ambition during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, in the latest development in the dispute over Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola’s emergence as the party’s candidate.
Also read: APC Denies Rumours Over 2027 Campaign Council List
Hunye said pressure was mounted on him after party leaders decided that Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, should emerge as the sole candidate.
He also claimed that he was excluded from a meeting involving former governors and other influential party figures because he refused to withdraw from the contest.
The allegation comes as the Ogun APC dispute moves beyond an internal disagreement over the primary and into a wider political and legal confrontation.
Hunye questioned why the party allowed him to buy a nomination form for N50 million and subsequently cleared him to contest if a consensus had already been reached in Adeola’s favour.
He argued that the sequence raised fundamental questions about the fairness of the nomination process and the treatment of aspirants who had met the party’s requirements.
The dispute dates back to the APC governorship primary held in May. Adeola was declared the winner with 304,055 votes from 305,287 accredited voters, while Hunye was recorded as receiving zero votes.
The figures were announced by the chairman of the APC governorship primary election committee, Wale Ohu.
Hunye rejected the result and subsequently called for the primary to be cancelled and conducted afresh.
His campaign organisation also disputed the announced outcome, saying reports from its agents across the state’s 236 wards did not tally with the figures eventually declared.
The aspirant has since taken the dispute to court. Hunye insists that his challenge is not an attempt to impersonate the APC candidate but a legal effort to question the process through which Adeola emerged.
“I want to correct that story. I have never said I am the candidate of the APC,” Hunye said in a separate interview on Tuesday, according to reports. He maintained that the matter remained before the courts.
The APC, however, has taken an increasingly firm position against Hunye.
The Ogun State chapter recently reaffirmed Adeola as its only recognised governorship candidate and said reports suggesting that Hunye had become the party’s candidate should be disregarded.
The party said Adeola and his running mate, Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun, had been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The national APC has also escalated the dispute by petitioning the Inspector-General of Police over what it described as Hunye’s alleged impersonation of the party’s candidate.
In the petition, APC Director of Administration Ayoola Olajolo accused Hunye of presenting himself through traditional and social media platforms as the party’s governorship candidate.
The party asked the police to investigate and prosecute him if offences were established.
Hunye has rejected that characterisation, saying he is challenging the nomination process rather than claiming that the party has formally recognised him.
The disagreement has also generated criticism from within APC ranks. Party chieftain Kayode Oladele argued in June that Hunye had been ill-advised to enter the primary without the political structure and statewide support needed to compete with Adeola. Oladele described the primary result as evidence of overwhelming support for Adeola.
Other party figures have defended Adeola’s position, while leaders in Hunye’s home Tube Ward in Ipokia Local Government Area publicly backed the outcome of the primary and the senator’s candidacy.
Hunye recently unveiled Otunba Abayomi Odunowo as his running mate and insisted that he remained in the race while his court challenge was pending.
He has also challenged aspects of Adeola’s claim to Ogun West, adding another layer to an already sensitive political dispute.
The APC’s position remains that the nomination process is concluded and that Adeola is the recognised candidate for the 2027 election.
Adeola emerged after the May primary and has pledged to consolidate the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun and maintain unity within the party if elected. (Premium Times)
For Hunye, however, the central issue remains the process rather than the political strength of Adeola’s candidacy.
His latest allegation of threats adds a more personal dimension to the dispute, suggesting that the contest involved pressure to accept a predetermined outcome even before the primary was concluded.
Hunye has not publicly identified the party leaders he says threatened him.
The competing claims have yet to be resolved by a final judicial determination.
Until the courts rule otherwise, the APC continues to recognise Adeola as its candidate, while Hunye maintains that his challenge to the primary remains a legitimate pursuit of due process.
Also read: APC Denies Rumours Over 2027 Campaign Council List
The unfolding dispute could become an important test of how the ruling party manages internal contests ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly when questions over consensus arrangements, primary procedures and legal challenges collide.
