Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, has given two political figures 24 hours to substantiate claims that he is an indigene of Ekiti State or face legal action.
Adeola, the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Ogun State and senator representing Ogun West, issued the ultimatum through his media adviser, Chief Kayode Odunaro.
The senator accused Hon. Abayomi Hunye, a suspended APC member from Tube in Ipokia Local Government Area, and Ambassador Folake Marcus-Bello of the Peoples Democratic Party of making defamatory claims about his background during interviews on Channels Television programmes.
According to Odunaro, the two individuals alleged, among other things, that Adeola was from Ekiti State but failed to provide evidence to support the claims.
Adeola described the allegations as false and defamatory, warning that he would seek legal redress if the accusers failed to substantiate them within 24 hours.
“I watched in utter disbelief as these characters that I hardly know utter assertive and outrageous lies about my origin without any proof,” the senator said.
He alleged that one of the individuals claimed on television that he was from Ekiti but could not identify a specific location in the state when challenged.
Adeola also accused the other of making claims about the locations of his parents’ graves, describing the allegations as an attempt to sustain what he called a false narrative about his origin.
“Enough is enough. They should produce their evidence in 24 hours or be ready for my lawsuits,” he warned.
Odunaro said the controversy over Adeola’s origin was not new, claiming that similar allegations had been raised during previous campaigns against his bid to represent Ogun West in the Senate.
He alleged that the issue had resurfaced as Adeola seeks the APC ticket and campaigns for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
Adeola won the Ogun West senatorial seat in the 2023 National Assembly election.
The claims about his origin and the allegations made by Hunye and Marcus-Bello could not be independently verified from the material available.