2027: Ogun PDP refutes claim over eligibility of Adebutu

The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed claims challenging the eligibility of its 2027 governorship candidate, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, describing the allegation that his name was omitted from the party’s official membership register as baseless and unfounded.

The party, in a statement issued by the State Publicity Secretary, Architect Kayode Adebayo, clarified that Adebutu remained a fully registered, financially compliant and undisputed leader of the party in Ogun State.

Adebayo was reacting to a report being circulated by the Ogun Democratic Accountability Forum (ODAF) alleging that Adebutu’s name was not on the party’s membership register.

The party affirmed that all legal and statutory requirements under the Electoral Act regarding party registration and the submission of membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were strictly satisfied within the stipulated deadlines.

The party maintained that the narrative claiming Adebutu was disqualified was a sponsored smear campaign allegedly designed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its proxy groups to create artificial panic among the electorate and distract from what it described as key political vulnerabilities ahead of the election.

Adebayo said the primary motivation behind the alleged false narrative was to cover up unresolved questions surrounding the indigeneship status of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.

The party noted that, after decades of representing Lagos State in the legislature, Senator Adeola’s shift of political base to Ogun State remained a critical vulnerability that the APC was allegedly desperate to conceal.

Furthermore, the PDP alleged that the propaganda was engineered to bury mounting public scrutiny over the alleged diversion of federal constituency projects meant for other states to Ogun State, a tactic the party claimed was used to falsely project administrative achievements and deceive the people of Ogun State.

Rejecting the legal assertions made by ODAF regarding Supreme Court rulings and nomination fee payments, the party emphasised that political eligibility was governed by the Constitution and the Electoral Act rather than press statements issued by politically aligned groups.

The PDP urged INEC to ignore pressure from political proxies, reassuring supporters across Ogun State that Adebutu’s nomination process remained intact and that he remained fully eligible to contest the 2027 governorship race.