Four separate court cases challenging Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola’s Ogun 2027 governorship candidacy have been discontinued by the respective litigants, providing a boost to the All Progressives Congress candidate as the state prepares for next year’s election.
Adeola’s media adviser, Kayode Odunaro, announced the development on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, saying the suits were voluntarily withdrawn at the Federal High Court in Abuja. According to him, one case was discontinued on August 24, while the other three were withdrawn on September 7.
The development reduces the number of legal challenges surrounding Adeola’s emergence as the APC candidate, although it does not mean all litigation over the party’s Ogun governorship ticket has ended.
A separate suit filed by APC aspirant Abayomi Hunye remains a major unresolved challenge. Hunye has continued to contest the process that produced Adeola and has maintained that the court should determine the legitimate APC candidate.
Odunaro said the four cases were formally discontinued in court, with the relevant parties and their lawyers notified through notices of discontinuance.
The cases included:
- FHC/AB/CS/87/26, filed by Professor Awolola Awoniyi under the Freedom of Information Act.
- FHC/ABJ/CS/844/26, involving several political party officials and members, including representatives of the Booth Party, Young Progressive Party, Action Democratic Party and Labour Party.
- FHC/ABJ/CS/989/2026, involving some of the individuals connected to the earlier litigation.
- FHC/ABJ/CS/884/26, also involving political actors and party members challenging issues surrounding Adeola’s candidacy.
The defendants across the cases included Adeola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC.
Odunaro said the litigants did not publicly state their reasons for discontinuing the suits.
He nevertheless claimed that some had become convinced about the strength of Adeola’s candidacy and were prepared to support his 2027 ambition. That explanation remains the position of Adeola’s camp rather than an independently confirmed reason for the withdrawals.
The withdrawal of four suits should not be interpreted as the complete resolution of the APC’s internal dispute in Ogun.
Abayomi Hunye, who participated in the party’s governorship nomination process, has maintained a separate legal challenge against Adeola’s emergence.
Hunye has argued that the process that produced Adeola should be subjected to judicial scrutiny. He has also rejected reports suggesting that he had stepped aside or abandoned his ambition. In late August, he unveiled former aspirant Abayomi Odunowo as his running mate and said he would continue pursuing the matter in court.
The dispute centres partly on the result of the APC’s governorship primary. Adeola was declared winner with 304,055 votes from 305,287 accredited voters, while Hunye was recorded with zero votes. Hunye has challenged the credibility and process behind that outcome.
The APC has rejected Hunye’s position and continues to recognise Adeola as its candidate.
The ruling party has repeatedly sought to close the controversy surrounding its Ogun ticket.
The Ogun APC leadership reaffirmed Adeola as its governorship candidate in August, while the party’s national leadership also rejected Hunye’s claim to the ticket.
The APC said Hunye had been suspended from the party earlier in 2026 and described his continued presentation of himself as a candidate as unauthorised. Hunye has disputed the party’s position.
The competing positions have created an unusual situation in which the party recognises Adeola as its candidate while a former aspirant continues to ask the courts to examine the process through which he emerged.
That distinction matters ahead of the 2027 election because a party’s internal nomination dispute can create uncertainty over its eventual candidate if the courts intervene before the electoral process is concluded.
The discontinuation of four cases potentially strengthens Adeola’s position as he begins the next phase of his campaign.
The senator, popularly known as Yayi, emerged as the APC’s preferred candidate after party leaders rallied around his bid to produce a governor from Ogun West.
The zoning question has been central to the contest because Ogun West has never produced a governor since the creation of Ogun State. Governor Dapo Abiodun and other influential APC figures backed Adeola’s emergence, presenting it as part of a broader effort to address the longstanding demand from the district.
Adeola subsequently embarked on reconciliation efforts with other aspirants and political stakeholders. Several former contenders have publicly backed his candidacy, helping the APC project an image of greater unity.
The latest court withdrawals could therefore help the party reduce one layer of internal opposition.
Despite the latest development, the unresolved Hunye litigation means the legal dispute surrounding the Ogun APC ticket is not yet completely settled.
Hunye has insisted that his case remains before the Federal High Court and that the judiciary should determine the validity of the process that produced Adeola.
For the APC, the immediate challenge is to prevent the remaining dispute from undermining its campaign preparations.
For Adeola, the withdrawal of four suits gives his campaign additional breathing room, but the outstanding case means his team cannot yet treat the legal controversy as fully closed.
The political significance is equally important. With the 2027 governorship contest approaching, the APC will need to maintain the coalition that produced Adeola while managing dissatisfied members and persuading voters across Ogun’s three senatorial districts.
The four discontinued cases represent progress for the senator’s campaign, but the Hunye case remains the clearest unresolved legal threat to the party’s claim of a settled governorship ticket.
