The Media Adviser to the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Ogun State, Senator Solomon Adeola, has explained that the politician changed his name from Sulaimon Ogunleye to Solomon Adeola after converting from Islam to Christianity.
Adeola’s media aide, Kayode Odunaro, made the clarification while responding to questions about the senator’s identity and name ahead of the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH on Saturday, Odunaro said there was nothing unusual about the name change, stressing that Adeola had adopted the name years before entering politics.
According to him, Adeola was born into a Muslim family and later adopted the name Solomon after becoming a Christian.
> “Many people at some point in life have had cause to change their names. Even the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, once changed his name. His original name wasn’t Atiku Abubakar,” Odunaro said.
He added that Adeola had been known by the new name since his time at The Guardian newspaper.
“He was Sulaimon Ogunleye, but changing his religion from Islam to Christianity made him change his name. Solomon is the biblical name for Sulaimon. His father’s name is Ogunleye and Adeola. He only chose Adeola as his surname,” he explained.
The clarification followed allegations by a former chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Wale Adedayo, who claimed that Adeola was originally known as Sulaimon Ogunleye and was from Ekiti State.
Adeola subsequently demanded that Adedayo and others making similar claims provide evidence or face legal action.
However, Odunaro maintained that changing a name was not evidence of wrongdoing, noting that people could change their names for personal, religious or other reasons.
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