Abayomi Hunye, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, has called for the cancellation of the party's governorship primary election ahead of the 2027 general elections. Hunye alleged widespread irregularities in the exercise, in which he was reportedly scored zero votes against the incumbent Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Olamilekan Solomon Adeola, also known as Yayi. He insisted that the primary be nullified and a fresh election conducted.
Allegations of Pre-Written Results
Hunye questioned how he could have been allocated zero votes despite the presence of himself and his supporters across the state's 236 wards and 20 local government areas during the exercise. According to him, the results were pre-written and did not reflect the reality on the ground. Speaking at a press conference in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, yesterday, Hunye further alleged that many of his supporters were beaten, harassed, arrested, and prevented from exercising their voting rights during the primary election.
Legal Challenge and Court Action
Following the announcement of the results, in which Adeola was declared the winner and Hunye was allocated zero votes, he decided to challenge the outcome in court. Consequently, he filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the nullification of the exercise. Expressing confidence in the court, Hunye alleged that his allocation of zero votes was the handiwork of certain party leaders who did not want him to contest against Adeola ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
“Last year, I was approached by some party leaders who advised me not to contest. When I asked for the reason, they said it was only Yayi who should contest. I told them that I am neither from Ijebu nor Egba, and they warned me that if I insisted on contesting, they would use every means possible to stop me. But I know I have God and I have the support of the masses.”
“On the eve of the primary election, I heard rumours that they intended to write zero against my name. At the end of the exercise, that was exactly what happened. Whatever their reasons were, they had them, but I have decided to challenge that zero allocation in court,” he said.
Conscience Cannot Be Bought
Hunye maintained that his conscience could not be bought and that he would not allow anyone to deny him the right to contest for the state's highest office for a third time. He insisted that no valid APC governorship primary election took place in Ogun State. “My position is that the election should be cancelled because there was no primary election in Ogun State. They simply went somewhere and wrote results. Those who were supposed to vote were not allowed to do so; they were chased away. We have evidence of this, and we have compiled and submitted that evidence before the court.”
“I was present for the exercise, and my supporters were present in all local government areas and all 236 wards across the state. How then can I be allocated zero votes? That alone shows that there was no election. They merely wrote figures for themselves. The era when people believed they could do whatever they liked without being challenged is over. I have gone to court, and I am confident that justice will prevail,” he added.
