Obtaining Nomination Form Not Exception From Party Disciplinary Action, Ipokia APC Leaders Chide Hunye
The All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State has declared that obtaining the party’s nomination form does not exempt any member from disciplinary action, insisting that no individual is above the party’s constitution.
The party’s position was made known at a press conference addressed by the APC Chairman in Ipokia Local Government, Hon. Agbetokun Wasiu Onikoyi, where the leadership also dissociated itself from the activities and political moves of an APC governorship aspirant, Mr. Abayomi Hunye Semako.
Onikoyi said Hunye’s recent utterances and activities did not represent the position of the APC in Ipokia, stressing that the local government remained firmly committed to the emergence of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the party’s governorship candidate.
According to him, the party’s support for Adeola was based on what he described as the senator’s record of infrastructural development, human capital empowerment and acceptance across Ogun State.
He said the emergence of an Ogun West governor would end what he described as a 50-year wait by the senatorial district to occupy the governorship seat of the state.
Onikoyi alleged that Hunye had consistently obtained nomination forms during election cycles since 2011, not necessarily to participate in competitive primaries, but allegedly as a means of negotiating for political appointments.
He claimed that the alleged pattern had previously resulted in Hunye securing appointments as Chairman of the Ogun State Mosquito Control Agency (OSAMCA), Commissioner and Special Adviser.
The Ipokia APC chairman further alleged that Hunye had acted without consultation with the party structure in Tube Ward, where he claimed to have originated from, or with the local government leadership.
On the controversy surrounding Hunye’s suspension, Onikoyi maintained that the acquisition of a nomination form could not override disciplinary procedures prescribed by the APC constitution.
“Is there any position or status a member can attain in APC that insulates him or her from the disciplinary action of the party? The answer is no,” he said.
He explained that disciplinary proceedings within the party were procedural, beginning at the ward level and progressing to the local government, state and national levels where necessary.
The APC chairman argued that even a candidate or serving governor could be subjected to disciplinary action if found to have violated the party’s constitution.
“Mr. Hunye’s argument of obtaining nomination forms after his suspension is misplaced and further exposes his ignorance of the Constitution of our party,” he stated.
Onikoyi also questioned Hunye’s recent open letter seeking an audience with President Bola Tinubu, arguing that the move was contradictory because Hunye had, according to him, instituted legal proceedings against the APC and its governorship candidate.
The party chairman also linked Hunye’s departure from government to what he described as a loss of political representation for Ipokia Local Government, alleging that his removal as Special Adviser and Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun State Waste Management Agency followed allegations of corruption and other illegalities.
He, however, presented the allegations as part of the political controversy surrounding Hunye and did not provide documentary evidence during the press conference.
The Ipokia APC leadership also raised questions over the identity and name change of Hunye, challenging him to explain why he reportedly changed his name after leaving the Lagos State civil service.
Onikoyi alleged that Hunye was known in the Lagos State civil service as “Semako Korotoe” and was documented and paid under that name.
He challenged Hunye to make public official records from his period in the Lagos State Government service, including his appointment letter, personal file, payslips, promotion letters and other employment records, to establish the circumstances surrounding the change.
The chairman further alleged that the change of name was connected to an alleged cooperative scam, but provided no evidence at the press conference to substantiate the allegation.
He therefore urged Hunye to explain publicly, and with documentary evidence, the circumstances surrounding the transition from “Semako Korotoe” to “Abayomi Hunye Semako.”
Onikoyi also cautioned Hunye against questioning Senator Adeola’s indigeneity, arguing that the senator’s family roots in Ishaga, Ilaro and Pahayi were well established.
He said the APC leadership in Ipokia would continue to support Adeola and called on the party’s state and national leadership not to give consideration to Hunye for appointments or political engagement.
Also speaking, the member representing Ipokia Constituency in the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Adebisi Oyedele, alleged that Hunye was being sponsored by unnamed individuals to undermine the emergence of Adeola as the party’s consensus governorship candidate.
Oyedele said the development was particularly troubling because Ogun West had waited for five decades to produce a governor.
“There’s something we should make abundantly clear: we believe that Mr. Abayomi Hunye is being sponsored against the agenda of Ogun West, and this nomenclature has been going on for 50 years, that we have never tasted the exalted seat of Governor,” he said.
He alleged that those sponsoring Hunye were providing financial resources to challenge Adeola’s emergence, adding that the APC leadership in Ipokia had rejected his political activities.
“We have disowned him. We don’t know Mr. Abayomi Hunye in Ipokia Local Government again. We, the APC leaders in Ipokia Local Government, disown Abayomi Hunye,” Oyedele declared.
He further reaffirmed the commitment of the APC leadership and supporters in Ipokia to Adeola, saying they would mobilise behind him at the 2027 governorship election.
“The next line of action is that on February 6, 2027, we are going to cast our votes for Senator Adeola Yayi as governor of Ogun State,” Oyedele said.
The Ipokia APC leadership consequently declared that Hunye’s views and political activities should not be construed as representing the position of the party or its members in the local government.
