The Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has dismissed claims by the Ladi Adebutu Democratic Organisation, LADO, challenging the indigeneship of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola in Ogun State, calling it baseless and ridiculous.
The party opined that the claim that Adeola, popularly known as Yayi is a stranger in the state is not only reckless and mischievous, but contrary to both facts and constitutional provisions.
DAILY POST reports that the spokesperson of LADO, Afolabi Orekoya, had questioned YAYI’s origin during a radio programme on a private FM station in Ilese-Ijebu, on Wednesday.
Orekoya insisted that the 2027 election should not be handed to “a stranger” allegedly unfamiliar with the state’s political and social history.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Ogun APC Publicity Secretary, Nuberu Olufemi, the party said the attempt amounts to desperate political propaganda aimed at distracting Ogun people from the glaring crisis and disintegration within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The statement wondered how a politician with maternal and paternal roots in Abeokuta and Yewaland, respectively, and who is currently representing the good people of Ogun West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, could be described as a non-indigene in Ogun State.
According to the APC, the allegation clearly contradicts the provisions of the Nigerian constitution on citizenship and eligibility to contest elections.
The party urged the PDP and its affiliates to focus on resolving their deepening internal crisis instead of resorting to attacks on political opponents.
It noted that the crisis rocking the PDP in Ogun State had become so severe that several key stakeholders had abandoned the party for the APC, including the erstwhile PDP State Chairman, Sikirulai Ogundele, as well as members of the PDP caucus in the Ogun State House of Assembly.
The APC described the PDP as a sinking and crisis-ridden party whose members were daily losing confidence in its leadership and direction.
It added that it was ironic that supporters of a governorship candidate who, out of political desperation, abandoned his ancestral base in Iperu to contest election in Odogbolu, are now attempting to discredit a vastly superior candidate through unfounded allegations.
The statement read in part: “Nigerians are well aware of the fact that the PDP governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, is facing a Federal Government court case linked to alleged vote-buying and money laundering during the 2023 Ogun State governorship election.
“We wait to see how such a candidate, whom the people of Ogun State are keeping at arm’s length because of his poor record, hopes to derive political capital from false, jejune, and illogical statements targeted at Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola and his candidature.”
The statement maintained that Senator Solomon Adeola remains the governorship candidate to beat ahead of the 2027 election, citing his economic blueprint, grassroots engagements across the state, and extensive constituency projects.
It concluded that Ogun residents would reject what it termed the “politics of deception” and instead embrace continuity, stability, and development in 2027.
