The attention of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Ogun State APC Campaign Council has been drawn to a spurious petition being circulated by a faceless group and promoted by the online platform, Platform Times, alleging massive budget insertions and looting of public funds to the tune of ₦250 billion by the APC governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, CON, popularly known as Yayi.
The publication, headlined “N250bn Budget Bomb: Group Drags Ogun APC Gov Candidate, Yayi, Before ICPC, Demands Probe,” is being circulated across social media platforms as a purported petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
We state categorically that the allegations are false, baseless and politically motivated. They are yet another desperate attempt to manufacture controversy around Senator Adeola ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
More disturbing is the fundamental misunderstanding of Nigeria’s budgetary process contained in the allegations. For the records:
1. The national budget is an Act of the National Assembly, not the property or product of an individual legislator. It is considered, scrutinised and passed through a constitutional legislative process involving the 109-member Senate and 360-member House of Representatives before being assented to by the President.
2. No Senator, including the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, has the unilateral power to insert, approve or implement projects or appropriate public funds at will. Any suggestion that Senator Adeola could single-handedly insert projects worth ₦250 billion into the national budget betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the legislative and budgetary process.
3. Chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee does not confer unilateral control over the budget. The committee performs its functions within the framework of the National Assembly, working with relevant committees and considering the proposals and budget submissions of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as other inputs received through the legislative process.
4. Budgetary provision is not the same as project execution. Projects appropriated in the national budget are implemented by the relevant MDAs of the Executive arm of government. Procurement, contract award, disbursement and execution are the responsibility of the appropriate government agencies, subject to applicable laws and regulations. Legislators are not contractors and are not allocated public funds to execute constituency projects.
5. Once an Appropriation Act is passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President, it becomes law. Legislative responsibility thereafter includes oversight to ensure that appropriated funds are utilised in accordance with the law and that projects and programmes are properly implemented.
6. The allegation that the mere existence of budgetary provisions constitutes evidence of corruption is therefore fundamentally misleading. If there is credible evidence of corruption, the appropriate agencies are free to investigate the specific conduct, transaction, procurement process or expenditure concerned. A sweeping demand to “probe the budget” does not, by itself, establish wrongdoing.
The Council has no objection whatsoever to any lawful inquiry by the ICPC or any other competent anti-corruption agency. Senator Adeola has nothing to fear from any legitimate investigation based on verifiable facts and evidence.
We are, however, concerned about the increasingly desperate resort to anonymous groups, unsubstantiated allegations and sensational publications to create the impression of wrongdoing where none has been established.
The opposition should concentrate on presenting its programmes and engaging the people of Ogun State on the issues that matter to them, rather than attempting to manufacture controversies around Senator Adeola.
Senator Adeola remains focused on his legislative responsibilities and on supporting projects and interventions across Ogun West and other parts of Ogun State under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the APC-led Federal Government. No amount of political blackmail or fake news will distract him from his governorship aspiration.
The Media and Publicity Committee therefore urges the people of Ogun State and the general public to treat the purported ₦250 billion budget allegation with the caution it deserves and to demand verifiable evidence rather than rely on sensational claims circulated through anonymous or politically sponsored platforms.
Signed:
Chief Kayode Odunaro
Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee
Ogun State APC Campaign Council
18 September 2026
