Ogun 2027: YPP, BOOT deny withdrawing suit against Adeola

ABEOKUTA — The Ogun State chapters of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and BOOT Party have denied withdrawing or authorising the discontinuance of a legal challenge concerning the eligibility and state-of-origin questions surrounding the governorship candidacy of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.

The state chairmen of the two parties, Adeyemi Solomon Oluwaseyunmi and Akerele Abiodun John, respectively, made their position known while addressing journalists in Abeokuta on Monday.

Their reaction followed a statement issued on Friday by Adeola’s media adviser, Chief Kayode Odunaro, titled, “Ogun 2027: Major Court Cases against Sen. Adeola Yayi candidacy dropped.”

The two party chairmen said the statement did not reflect their position, insisting that neither of them had authorised anyone to withdraw, compromise or discontinue the legal challenge without their knowledge and consent.

“For the avoidance of doubt, neither of us, Arch. Akerele Abiodun John nor Hon. Adeyemi Solomon Oluwaseyunmi, authorised any person to withdraw, compromise or discontinue our legal challenge without our express knowledge and consent,” they said.

They alleged that Adeyemi was neither contacted nor informed before the reported discontinuance was made public.

The chairmen said where a court proceeding involved multiple plaintiffs, the status of the case should be established from the court records and processes filed before the court rather than political statements.

“We will not allow our names, positions and legitimate interests to be used to create the impression that we voluntarily abandoned our legal rights when, in fact, we were not consulted or informed,” they said.

They also said their position was not motivated by personal animosity towards Adeola, but by issues they believed should be determined through judicial and constitutional processes.

“Our concern is that questions surrounding eligibility, constitutional requirements, state of origin and political participation should be subjected to the appropriate judicial and constitutional processes,” they said.

The party chairmen added that they had not authorised Adeola’s media team or any other person to speak on their behalf regarding the proceedings.

They consequently rejected any suggestion that they had abandoned their concerns about Adeola’s candidacy or decided to support him following the reported discontinuance.

The two politicians appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his capacity as President and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to caution political actors involved in the matter against what they described as misrepresentation, intimidation and undue pressure.

They urged all parties to respect the rights of citizens and political actors to seek legal redress.

The chairmen also expressed concern over what they described as developments that had caused apprehension among persons connected with the case.

They called on security agencies to remain vigilant and investigate any credible complaints of threats or intimidation arising from the matter.

According to them, they had approached relevant security authorities over their concerns and the circumstances surrounding the reported attempt to withdraw or compromise the proceedings.

Reiterating their position, the YPP and BOOT chairmen said they had neither withdrawn their concerns nor authorised anyone to compromise their interests.

“We have not authorised Senator Adeola’s media team or any other person to speak on our behalf concerning this matter,” they said.

They urged the public, political parties and other stakeholders to exercise caution over claims that all legal challenges concerning Adeola’s candidacy had been voluntarily and unanimously abandoned.

“The proper place to determine the status, validity and effect of any notice of discontinuance is the court, not a political press release,” they said.

The two chairmen said they remained confident in the judiciary and would continue to pursue what they described as lawful avenues available to them.

“We will not be intimidated. We will not be coerced. We will not allow our names to be used to endorse a decision we did not authorise,” they said.

They also appealed to political actors in Ogun State to approach the 2027 electoral process with restraint and respect for democratic institutions.

They urged all parties involved in the dispute to allow the judicial process to run its course.