A fresh political dispute has erupted within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State after former governorship aspirant Abayomi Semako Hunye unveiled Abayomi Odunowo as his running mate for the 2027 governorship election and insisted he remains in the race.
Hunye, the immediate past Managing Director of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA), announced his deputy at a press conference, dismissing reports that he had stepped down or reached a settlement with the party over the governorship contest.
The move comes months after Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and APC leaders adopted Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the party’s consensus governorship candidate. Adeola later emerged winner of the APC primary, polling 304,055 votes, while Hunye was officially credited with zero votes.
Rejecting the primary outcome, Hunye has challenged the result in court, alleging widespread irregularities and the disenfranchisement of his supporters. He said unveiling a running mate was necessary to demonstrate his continued participation in the electoral process while the case remains before the court.
Hunye argued that the Electoral Act requires aspirants challenging party primaries to continue participating in subsequent stages of the election process. He maintained that his legal challenge is still pending and that the issue of the APC governorship ticket has not been finally resolved.
The Ogun APC has, however, rejected Hunye’s claims, insisting that Senator Adeola remains the party’s duly recognised governorship candidate. State APC Chairman Yemi Sanusi said Adeola and his running mate, Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun, have already been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The party urged members and the public to disregard any contrary claims, stressing that only official communications from the APC and INEC should be considered valid.
The APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, also described Hunye as an impostor, saying he was suspended from the party in April 2026 over alleged anti-party activities and therefore lacks the legal standing to represent the APC in any capacity.
Hunye has denied being suspended, insisting he never received any suspension letter and that the party followed no disciplinary process. He noted that after the alleged suspension date, the APC sold him a ₦50 million nomination form, screened and cleared him to participate in the governorship primary.
The dispute has now taken a legal and security dimension, with the APC petitioning the Inspector-General of Police to investigate and prosecute Hunye for allegedly impersonating the party’s governorship candidate. Hunye, in response, said he remains confident in the judicial process and will abide by the court’s final decision.
