An All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant in Ogun State, Iyabo Obasanjo, has said the party’s 2027 governorship candidate, Solomon Adeola, failed to honour their agreement following a meeting between him and her campaign representatives.
Ms Obasanjo, in an interview on AIT on Tuesday, narrated how her campaign representatives made three demands from Mr Adeola popularly called Yayi during a meeting with him following his emergence as the APC consensus governorship candidate in the state.
She said, “When he came, my people made the demands. I said they could make the demands because I am a leader. If I told them not to, they would have thought I didn’t want to compensate them after for working for me after our political journey had ended.
“The three things they asked are very clear. They said they wanted the Senate for me. I told them I didn’t want it. The second was the money I spent during the campaign and three they said they wanted my people to join his campaign because we’re in the same party and we need to work together.”
Ms Obasanjo further said she requested Mr Adeola to do whatever he could regarding the demands, adding he failed to get back to her in a week as promised.
“When it was just two of us talking, I told him that he should let me know what he can do from any of these. For the Senate, I didn’t join the race but my people wanted something. The second he asked how much and I told him he can do whatever he can, and that I spent money during my campaign. Whatever he can do, it’s fine since I didn’t tell him at the beginning.
“The third one, I said I’ll give him three, one per senatorial district from my gubernatorial campaign who will work with your team and he said he would come back to me in a week.
“I expected him to come back with an answer to any of the three. Six weeks gone by, this week didn’t call me. I know people who spoke to him on my behalf. What he told them was he was too busy to talk to me,” the former lawmaker added.
Ms Obasanjo’s statement came on the heels of Mr Adeola’s allegations that Ms Obasanjo requested reimbursement of campaign expenses running into millions of naira and dollars, nothing such a demand reflected a transactional approach to politics.
The APC governorship candidate said he had met with the former aspirant during his reconciliation visits because he believed the person genuinely desired to serve the state, but later concluded that the interest was driven by personal gain.
The politician said that the former aspirant later defected from the APC and aligned with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate.
“Their intention is driven by personal interest and not the interest of Ogun State. Their intention is clear. They don’t mean well for our dear state. They are bitter. They are looking for the state purse. One of them said I offended her. She said I reneged on promises. She said she joined the governorship race and failed and wants me to refund her expenses” Mr Adeola said.
Ms Obasanjo, however, accused Mr Adeola of suffering from trust deficit, adding the governorship candidate lacked integrity and should not be taken seriously.
