Yayi is bona fide Egba indigene, Ogun chiefs insist

Traditional councils in Kemta, Ogun State have affirmed that the 2027 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, is a bona fide indigene of Egbaland from Kemta.

The chiefs who spoke on the dispute are under the leadership of the Oluwo of Kemta and Baaye of Egbaland, Chief Abayomi Rotimi.

They dismissed reports circulating on social media that the Ile Ogboni of Kemta was shut because of Adeola’s relationship with the community, describing the claims as false and politically motivated.

Rotimi stated this on Monday at a press conference held at the Ile Ogboni of Kemta, where he said politics should not be allowed to interfere with the affairs of the traditional institution.

He said Adeola remained a son of the community regardless of political differences among its residents.

“Yayi is one of us. He is our son. We have different political parties here. We have PDP, APC, Accord and others. Whoever is our son is our son, and whoever comes here for us to help, we accept him.

“Whoever wants to vote should vote for whomever he wants. But you cannot bring politics into this house,” he said.

Rotimi also denied claims that the Ile Ogboni had been locked, challenging those behind the report to visit the premises.

“They didn’t lock any place up. At least you have got here. It was in front of you that we opened it with the key, and we got inside,” he said.

The Oluwo expressed concern over the alleged use of manipulated images and artificial intelligence (AI) to circulate misleading information about the traditional institution, warning that such materials could create false impressions about events that never occurred.

He urged members of the public to disregard reports suggesting that the Ile Ogboni had been closed or that Adeola had been rejected by the community.

Rotimi further said his relationship with Adeola was not based solely on politics, noting that it took him some time to establish a relationship with the senator.

 “I am not a politician. My father was a politician, but I wasn’t born a politician. If you get to my house, you will see photographs of people like Shagari, Akintola and others that my father worked with,” he said.

The traditional ruler also dismissed reports that he had been suspended as the Oluwo of Kemta, saying his recent interactions with the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, contradicted the claim.

Rotimi said, “I was still with the Alake on Friday and Saturday. I was coming from the Alake’s Palace right now. We went there to settle a township matter.

“If I am suspended, the Alake is the paramount ruler of Egbaland. He should know about it. And if I am suspended, I would have been tried by my people or by the Alake himself.”

Other traditional chiefs present at the briefing included Chief Oyedele Oladele Lanlemo, Chief Odeyinka Adeyemi and Chief Toheed Adefolakan, Bada Kemta.

The chiefs reaffirmed their support for Rotimi’s position and maintained that the traditional institution should not be dragged into partisan political disputes.

Also speaking in a separate interview, the Baale of Kemta, Odutolu, Chief Aregbesola Anipupo, dismissed reports linking Adeola to an alleged crisis within the Kemta community.

Anipupo said there was no crisis in Kemta Odutolu and that the community remained firmly behind the senator.

He said, “There is no truth to what they are saying about Yayi. Especially in Kemta Odutolu, where I am the Baale, nothing of such happened. Nothing could happen there that I would not know about or hear of.”

According to him, the Kemta community had continued to work together in support of Adeola, stressing that personal disagreements or political grievances should not be attributed to the senator.

Anipupo also dismissed claims that elders in the community were supporting the senator because of financial inducements, saying their support was based on their longstanding relationship with him as a son of Kemta.

“Whoever says that is telling a complete lie. We support him simply because we know he is our son in Kemta Odutolu. That is why we have stood by him from the very beginning.

“It is not because we are receiving a salary from him or taking things from him to do what we are doing. It is purely because we know he is our child. He is our son,” he said.