Solomon Adeola gives opponents 24hrs to prove Ekiti indigene claim
Solomon Adeola, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Ogun, has challenged Abayomi Hunye, a suspended member of the party, and Folake Marcus-Bello of the Peoples Democratic...
Solomon Adeola, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Ogun, has challenged Abayomi Hunye, a suspended member of the party, and Folake Marcus-Bello of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to provide evidence within 24 hours to substantiate their claim that he is an indigene of Ekiti state.
Adeola, the senator representing Ogun west, is the consensus governorship candidate of the ruling party in the state.
However, his claim to Ogun ancestry has been challenged by his opponents.
In separate interviews with Channels TV in August and September, Hunye and Marcus-Bello claimed that Adeola is an Ekiti state indigene.
Marcus-Bello said Yewa people should support a genuine son or daughter of the area seeking the governorship instead of Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
She alleged that Adeola’s father was buried in Ekiti, while his mother was buried in Epe, Lagos state.
“He started off there, right? From there, we don’t want to go into what happened, but from there, he surfaced again in the politics of Lagos state,” Marcus-Bello said.
“And he started off claiming Lagos state, representing Lagos state both at local and national levels. And he claimed Lagos state. He has a certificate of indigeneship to show that he’s a Lagosian.
“He benefited from Alimosho. He did everything in Lagos state. And all of a sudden, he has the ambition of wanting to be governor,” she said.
“He looks at where the weakest link is and jumps into Ogun west. His father is buried in Ekiti. He’s buried in Ekiti.
“His mother is buried in Epe. We are Yoruba people, and all politics in Yoruba land are local.”
‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’
Responding in a statement issued on Tuesday by Kayode Odunaro, his media adviser, Adeola described the allegations as false and defamatory, warning that those responsible would face legal action.
He said the allegations had been circulated on other media platforms after their television appearances.
“I watched in utter disbelief as these characters that I hardly know utter assertive and outrageous lies about my origin without any proof,” the statement reads.
“One falsely claimed on TV that I am from Ekiti, and when asked where exactly in Ekiti went moronically blanked 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.”
Adeola said the allegation had previously been used as a political campaign against his bid to represent Ogun west in the senate.
He said the claim did not prevent him from winning the 2023 national assembly election in the district, adding that the renewed allegation was aimed at marring his chances ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Ogun.
