The APC governorship aspirant says the party accepted N50m from him, screened and cleared him after the date it now says he was suspended

The Ogun State governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Abayomi Hunye, has questioned the party’s claim that he was suspended on April 7, 2026, saying the APC subsequently collected N50 million from him for its nomination form, screened him and cleared him to contest the 2027 governorship primary.

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Hunye raised the issue on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, amid an escalating dispute over the APC’s governorship ticket in Ogun State and the party’s decision to disown him as an aspirant acting on its behalf.

The APC has maintained that Hunye was suspended following a petition from his ward, Tube Ward in Ipokia Local Government Area, and that the suspension was ratified by the relevant party structures.

The party subsequently described him as an impostor and reaffirmed Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as its 2027 governorship candidate. (The Nation News)

Hunye, however, said the timeline presented by the party raised serious questions about how its own officials subsequently dealt with him.

“The first thing they said yesterday was that ‘I’ve been suspended.’ They said I was suspended on April 7. How can you suspend me on April 7, and on April 28, you collected money from me and gave me a form?” Hunye said.

According to Hunye, he obtained the APC governorship nomination form from the party’s national secretariat on April 28, three weeks after the date of the alleged suspension.

He said the party subsequently invited him for screening on May 15 and cleared him alongside other aspirants.

“On the 15th of May, again, I went for screening. You screened me and, at the end of the day, you cleared me that I’m successful,” he said. (Vanguard News)

Hunye said he was assigned number 62 during the screening exercise, while Adeola was assigned number 53. He also said some other aspirants were disqualified during the process.

The dispute goes beyond the alleged suspension.

Hunye is challenging the outcome of the APC governorship primary in court, maintaining that he participated in the exercise and was subsequently recorded as having scored zero votes.

He questioned how he could have paid N50 million to participate in the contest, gone through the screening process and then been treated as though he had withdrawn.

“I was not in the police station. I was not in the hospital. How will I pay N50 million for something and I will be absent there? And how would they now record zero against my name?” he asked. (Vanguard News)

The APC has a markedly different account.

The party says Hunye’s suspension originated from his ward and was approved by the Ogun State Working Committee on April 7. It has argued that the suspension meant Hunye lacked the authority to represent the party or transact political business in its name.

The party has also insisted that Adeola remains its duly recognised candidate for the 2027 election, with Kudirat Balogun as his running mate.

The confrontation has now moved beyond internal party disagreements, with the APC directing its legal team to pursue contempt proceedings and petitioning security agencies over what it described as impersonation and misrepresentation. (Freedom Online)

Hunye rejects that characterisation, saying he has never claimed to be the officially recognised APC candidate.

“I remain an aspirant,” he said, maintaining that his legal challenge concerns the process through which Adeola emerged.

He also said he was not formally notified of any suspension.

“If they say they have suspended me, I have not received any letter. No letter was sent to me,” Hunye said. (Vanguard News)

He argued that disciplinary action should follow due process, including notifying a member of the allegations against them and giving them an opportunity to respond.

The Hunye APC suspension dispute has therefore created a striking contradiction at the centre of the Ogun governorship battle: the party says he had already been suspended before its nomination process, while Hunye points to the subsequent sale of the nomination form, screening and clearance as evidence that the party continued to treat him as an eligible aspirant.

Hunye has taken the matter to court and says he intends to allow the judiciary to determine the validity of the primary and the issues surrounding the party’s nomination process.

The dispute is unfolding against a politically sensitive background in Ogun, where the APC is seeking to consolidate its position ahead of the 2027 election.

For now, the party’s official position remains that Adeola is its candidate, while Hunye continues to challenge the process that produced him.

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The court’s eventual determination could therefore prove important not only for Hunye’s political challenge but also for the APC’s efforts to enter the 2027 Ogun governorship election with a united structure.