The political contest for the 2027 Ogun State governorship has taken a new turn after two opposition parties publicly rejected claims that they had withdrawn legal challenges against the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
The Young Progressives Party (YPP) and the BOOT Party, through their Ogun State chairmen, stated that they were neither consulted nor informed before the purported discontinuance of the cases was presented as a significant legal win for the senator.
The denial directly contradicts a September 9 statement by Yayi’s media adviser, Chief Kayode Odunaro, which announced that major court cases against Adeola’s candidacy had been dropped.
Addressing journalists, YPP Chairman Hon. Adeyemi Solomon Oluwaseyifunmi and BOOT Party Chairman Arch. Akerele Abiodun John insisted that their parties’ legal concerns remain active. They accused Yayi’s media team of creating a false impression that all litigants had voluntarily agreed to discontinue the suits.
According to the chairmen, Oluwaseyifunmi was not contacted before the alleged withdrawal was announced. They emphasised that neither authorised any individual to withdraw, compromise or discontinue their cases, nor to speak on their behalf.
The parties stressed that the status of court proceedings cannot be determined by political statements. Only official court records and filed processes can confirm whether any case has actually been withdrawn and what the legal implications would be.
The development leaves the APC and its candidate facing renewed scrutiny over the legal standing of challenges to Yayi’s candidacy. A public declaration of victory appears to have been issued before all parties involved had endorsed or accepted such an outcome.
Beyond the legal dispute, the two chairmen introduced a security dimension. They alleged that the appearance of unfamiliar persons around them and other developments had raised concerns about intimidation, surveillance and personal safety. The parties said they had approached relevant security agencies to request investigations.
While these claims remain unproven and subject to investigation, their public airing adds a troubling layer to an already heated political contest.
YPP and BOOT consequently appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as leader of the APC, to caution Yayi and individuals within his political circle against alleged intimidation, misinformation, political pressure or interference with citizens’ legal rights. They specifically named Comrade Abayomi Arabambi and Comrade Awolola Awofala Awoniyi in their call for restraint.
The parties maintained that their actions stem from constitutional and eligibility questions that should be resolved in court, not from personal animosity toward Yayi. They rejected any suggestion that the purported discontinuance signalled acceptance of his candidacy or support for his 2027 bid.
“We will not be intimidated. We will not be coerced,” the chairmen declared, affirming their intention to pursue all lawful avenues available to them.
The controversy complicates the APC’s efforts to present its Ogun candidate as having cleared the legal hurdles surrounding his candidacy. With the affected parties publicly disowning the claimed withdrawals and insisting that only the judiciary can determine the status of the litigation, the legal questions around Yayi’s bid appear far from resolved.
For the opposition parties, the message is unambiguous: whatever announcements have come from Yayi’s camp, they do not regard the matter as closed. The 2027 Ogun governorship race, already shaping up as a fiercely contested battle, may now face another round of courtroom and political confrontation.