By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Former Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture and governorship aspirant Abayomi Semako Hunye is at the centre of a growing identity scandal, with investigators alleging that he previously operated under a different name and was dismissed from the Lagos State local government service following disciplinary proceedings for fraud and misappropriation of cooperative funds, reports thegazellenews.com
Thegazellenews.com has earlier reported that Hunye has been parading himself as the authentic governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State.
Thegazellenews.com has also reported that the party has disowned Hunye, insisting that its authentic governorship candidate for the state is Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola.
The allegations, sourced from persons familiar with an ongoing investigation and published by Lagos Confidential, claimed that Hunye was formerly known as Abayomi Semako Korote and worked in the Lagos State local government service from around 1999 until the administration of former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola.
Efforts are now underway to obtain relevant personnel and disciplinary documents from the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission to establish the facts.
Sources say Korote was attached to Alimosho Local Government Council, where he was involved in the establishment and management of a staff cooperative society.
He allegedly embezzled the cooperative’s funds, leaving it unable to meet its financial obligations to participating members.
The matter triggered complaints, a formal disciplinary investigation and a referral to a panel established by the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission.
The panel’s proceedings reportedly ended with the termination of Korote’s appointment. Sources also say he was transferred from Alimosho to Badagry before the termination was effected.
Investigators are seeking Hunye’s original personnel file, which is expected to contain his full name, date and place of birth, hometown, local government area and state of origin.
The file is considered critical because investigators believe Hunye may have declared Badagry in Lagos State as his place of origin in his original Lagos State Government records a declaration that stands in direct conflict with his present claim of being an indigene of Tube in Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Sources say that following his departure from Lagos State, Korote relocated to Ogun State and began operating as Abayomi Semako Hunye. Investigators are seeking evidence of a formal change of name through affidavits, gazette publications or other official documents to establish when and under what circumstances the name change occurred.
They are also comparing available records to determine conclusively whether Korote and Hunye are the same person.
The political dimension of the investigation adds further weight to the questions being raised.
Sources say posters appeared around 2007 indicating that Korote intended to contest for Governor of Lagos State during the period of Fashola’s emergence.
Hunye subsequently became politically active in Ogun State, serving as Commissioner for Agriculture and later as Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission. He has pursued the Ogun State governorship and remains involved in legal proceedings connected with those ambitions.
At least three former colleagues and a former superior from Hunye’s alleged period in the Lagos local government service have provided information to investigators about his identity and employment history.
The most decisive documentary evidence is expected from the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission, which holds records on appointments, postings, disciplinary proceedings and terminations.
Investigators are pressing for answers to six specific questions whether Hunye previously served as Abayomi Semako Korote; whether he was employed at Alimosho Local Government; whether he was transferred to Badagry; whether a disciplinary panel found him culpable over the cooperative funds; whether there was a lawful change of name; and whether the state of origin declared in his original Lagos employment records matches his current claim of Ogun State indigeneship.
Political observers say the questions carry serious public significance because they go to the heart of the identity, integrity and declared background of a former public office holder who is actively seeking to govern Ogun State.
The investigation is ongoing and efforts to retrieve official records are continuing.
