The All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate for Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun West, Senator Solomon Adeola, has threatened to institute legal action against Hon. Abayomi Hunye and Ambassador Folake Marcus-Bello over what he described as “libelous and false statements” about his origin made on national television.
Senator Adeola said he has given the duo 24 hours to publicly present evidence to back their claims or be ready to face lawsuits for defamation.
The Senator was reacting to separate interviews granted by Hunye and Marcus-Bello on Channels Television, where both alleged that he is an indigene of Ekiti State.
“I watched in utter disbelief as these characters that I hardly know uttered assertive and outrageous lies about my origin without any proof,” Senator Adeola stated.
“One falsely claimed on TV that I am from Ekiti and when asked where exactly in Ekiti, went moronically blank 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.”
The Senator recalled that the allegation of Ekiti origin was first used as a propaganda tool ahead of the 2023 National Assembly elections to prevent his emergence as Senator for Ogun West.
“The gimmick failed then because the people of Ogun West voted massively for me. The resurrection of this falsehood now is in pursuit of my seemingly unstoppable move to a victorious outing in the 2027 governorship race in Ogun State,” he said.
Senator Adeola, who is the APC governorship candidate for Ogun State, maintained that he is a bonafide indigene of Ogun West and that his records, family history and political trajectory are all verifiable.
In the statement issued on Tuesday, Senator Adeola demanded that both Hon. Abayomi Hunye, a suspended APC member from Tube, Ipokia LGA, and Ambassador Folake Marcus-Bello of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, retract their statements and tender public evidence within 24 hours.
“Failure to do so will leave me with no option but to seek redress in a court of law for the libelous and malicious statements widely circulated on national television and other media platforms,” he warned.
The Senator said he would not allow desperation in politics to drive the spread of falsehoods about his person and family.
As at press time, neither Hunye nor Marcus-Bello had responded to the 24-hour ultimatum.