The Ogun State chapters of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and BOOT Party have denied withdrawing or authorising the discontinuance of a legal challenge over the eligibility and state-of-origin questions surrounding the governorship candidacy of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.

The state chairmen of the two parties, Adeyemi Solomon Oluwaseyunmi and Akerele Abiodun John, made their position known while addressing journalists in Abeokuta on Monday.

Their reaction followed a statement issued on Friday by Adeola’s media adviser, Chief Kayode Odunaro, claiming that major court cases against Adeola’s 2027 governorship candidacy had been dropped.

The party chairmen, however, said the claim did not reflect their position, insisting that neither of them authorised anyone to withdraw, compromise or discontinue the legal challenge without their express knowledge and consent.

“For the avoidance of doubt, neither of us, Arch. Akerele Abiodun John nor Hon. Adeyemi Solomon Oluwaseyunmi, authorised any person to withdraw, compromise or discontinue our legal challenge without our express knowledge and consent,” they said.

They alleged that Adeyemi was neither contacted nor informed before the reported discontinuance was made public.

The chairmen said where a court proceeding involved multiple plaintiffs, its status should be established from court records and processes filed before the court rather than political statements.

They stressed that their position was not motivated by personal animosity towards Adeola, but by issues they believed should be resolved through judicial and constitutional processes.

“Our concern is that questions surrounding eligibility, constitutional requirements, state of origin and political participation should be subjected to the appropriate judicial and constitutional processes,” they said.

They also disowned Adeola’s media team and any other person purporting to speak on their behalf regarding the proceedings.

The two politicians consequently rejected any suggestion that they had abandoned their concerns about Adeola’s candidacy or decided to support him following the reported discontinuance.

They appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as President and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to caution political actors involved in the matter against what they described as misrepresentation, intimidation and undue pressure.

The chairmen further called on security agencies to remain vigilant and investigate any credible complaints of threats or intimidation arising from the dispute.

According to them, they had approached relevant security authorities over their concerns and circumstances surrounding the reported attempt to withdraw or compromise the proceedings.

Reiterating their position, they said they remained committed to pursuing lawful avenues available to them.

“We will not be intimidated. We will not be coerced. We will not allow our names to be used to endorse a decision we did not authorise,” they said.

They urged political parties and other stakeholders to exercise caution over claims that all legal challenges concerning Adeola’s candidacy had been voluntarily and unanimously abandoned.

“The proper place to determine the status, validity and effect of any notice of discontinuance is the court, not a political press release,” they said.

The YPP and BOOT chairmen said they remained confident in the judiciary and urged political actors in Ogun State to approach the 2027 electoral process with restraint and respect for democratic institutions.