•Senator Solomon Adeola a.k.a.Yayi
The Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Ogun State APC Presidential and Governorship Campaign Council, Kayode Oladele, has accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of repeatedly changing its line of attack against Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
Oladele was reacting to comments by Folake Marcus-Bello, who challenged Adeola to provide records relating to his employment history and an INEC form he completed when he first contested a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly, reports The Guardian.
Marcus-Bello also questioned Adeola’s sources of income and called on him to disclose his business interests outside public office.
Oladele said the latest allegations represented a departure from an earlier controversy over Adeola’s claim to Ogun State indigene status.
According to him, the opposition had moved from questioning Adeola’s ancestry to scrutinising his employment history, previous electoral records and finances.
“The goalpost keeps changing. Yesterday, the issue was that Yayi was not from Ogun State. Today, it is where he worked decades ago, what he wrote on an old INEC form and how he made his money. What will it be tomorrow?” he said.
Oladele attributed what he described as the changing line of attack to Adeola’s growing political presence across Ogun State.
“The PDP is simply intimidated because it has been unable to match Yayi’s growing statewide appeal and grassroots structure,” he said.
“What began as an Ogun West aspiration has developed into a movement with networks across the three senatorial districts, reaching local governments, wards and communities. Rather than build a comparable structure, the opposition has made attacking Yayi the centrepiece of its campaign.”
He said the earlier debate over Adeola’s indigeneship had failed to gain sufficient traction and argued that the latest allegations amounted to an “ever-changing political script”.
The APC chieftain said political disagreements should be based on evidence rather than what he described as successive allegations.
“Politics cannot be an endless fishing expedition in which a new allegation is introduced every time the previous one fails to resonate with the people .”
“The issue is no longer merely what Marcus-Bello is alleging; it is why the allegation keeps changing. Today it is ancestry, tomorrow employment, the next day an INEC form and now finances. At some point, those making these claims must stop moving the goalpost and start producing evidence.”
The lawyer cum politician also accused the opposition of allowing its criticism of Adeola to overshadow its own political programme ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
“If you ask them about Ladi Adebutu’s blueprint and what he intends to do differently for Ogun State, the conversation quickly returns to Yayi,” he said.
“Ask why Adebutu wants to be governor, and again the answer becomes Yayi. Ask about competing ideas, programmes and records, and somehow the discussion still comes back to Yayi.”
He argued that the election should focus on the programmes and records of the candidates.
“A governorship election should ultimately be a contest between competing visions for Ogun State. Tell the people what you will do, how you will do it and why your programme deserves their confidence,” Oladele said.
“Senator Adeola cannot simultaneously be your opponent, your manifesto and the principal subject of your campaign.”
Oladele said the APC would campaign across the state, including areas considered strongholds of the opposition.
“We will compete vigorously for every vote, including in Ladi Adebutu’s ward and polling unit. Our campaign will go there determined to harvest votes and score big in his own ward,” he said.
He said voters would ultimately assess the records, programmes and arguments put forward by the competing parties before deciding at the ballot box.
Oladele also framed Adeola’s candidacy as part of the long-standing aspiration of Ogun West to produce a governor, saying the senator’s political appeal had extended beyond the district.
“Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola is no longer just a candidate. He has become a symbol of Ogun West’s long-standing quest for political emancipation — a movement, an idea and a collective aspiration bigger than any one individual .”
According to him, the political movement around Adeola now has supporters and structures across Ogun Central and Ogun East, making it part of a wider debate about representation and development in the state.
“My message to the PDP is simple: You can fight a candidate, but you cannot fight an idea whose time has come. You can attack Yayi, but you cannot erase the aspiration he represents. The movement is bigger than the man .”
