Ogun 2027:‘He Asked Me How Much I Wanted’ – Iyabo Obasanjo Trade Words With Yayi Over Campaign Refund Claim

A fresh political controversy has emerged in Ogun State as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, and former Senator Iyabo Obasanjo exchanged accusations over an alleged demand for reimbursement of campaign expenses.

Speaking during a meeting with the Council of Iyalajes and Babaalajes from Remoland at his constituency office in Ilaro on Saturday, Adeola said he had met with Obasanjo as part of his consultations after emerging as the APC’s governorship candidate.

According to the senator representing Ogun West, the meeting took an unexpected turn when Obasanjo allegedly requested that he refund the money she spent while pursuing the APC governorship ticket.

Adeola described the alleged request as insulting, insisting that he never asked Obasanjo to contest the governorship election.

“She said she joined the governorship race and failed and wanted me to refund her expenses, her dollars and naira. Did I ask her to join the governorship race?” Adeola said.

The APC candidate further accused the former senator of pursuing personal interests rather than serving the people of Ogun State.

He also alleged that Obasanjo eventually left the APC because she was financially induced, claiming she was more interested in benefiting from the state’s resources than party loyalty.

Obasanjo had resigned from the APC in June, citing persistent disrespect from the party leadership and what she described as breaches of agreements reached with Adeola. She subsequently joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where she secured the party’s Ogun Central senatorial ticket.

Obasanjo Denies Personally Demanding Refund

Responding during an interview on Africa Independent Television (AIT) on Monday, Obasanjo dismissed Adeola’s claims and provided her own account of the events.

She said she withdrew from the APC governorship race immediately after the party adopted Adeola as its consensus candidate and even congratulated him on his emergence.

According to her, it was Adeola who initiated the meeting by calling to request a meeting with her and her supporters.

Obasanjo explained that although she personally told her supporters she did not intend to request anything from the APC candidate, they raised three demands during the meeting.

According to her, the requests included securing the Ogun Central Senate ticket for her, refunding the campaign expenses she had incurred, and formally recognising her political structure should they join Adeola’s campaign.

She maintained that she rejected the first demand because she was not interested in the Senate seat.

Obasanjo further claimed that Adeola personally asked her how much she wanted regarding the campaign expenses, to which she responded that he should give whatever he could afford.

She added that Adeola promised to get back to her within one week after the meeting but allegedly failed to do so despite several follow-up efforts by intermediaries.

The exchange has added a new dimension to the political rivalry ahead of the 2027 Ogun governorship election, with both politicians presenting conflicting versions of what transpired during their post-primary meeting.