The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, has dismissed the omission of his name from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s list of governorship candidates as a temporary distraction, insisting that it would not affect his determination to contest the 2027 governorship election.
Adebutu spoke on Monday at the PDP state secretariat in Abeokuta, where he received more than 1,000 defectors from the All Progressives Congress into the opposition party.
The defectors, led by a former APC member of the House of Representatives, Segun William, were formally welcomed by Adebutu, his running mate, Alhaja Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, and other PDP chieftains, including the party’s Ogun Central senatorial candidate, Iyabo Obasanjo, as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adebutu and his running mate were missing from the updated list of governorship candidates for the 2027 election in Ogun State published on INEC’s website as of Friday, October 31.
The chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said in a statement that the commission upheld 66 petitions challenging the final lists of governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections, while rejecting 64 others.
The petitions reportedly followed the publication of the final lists of candidates on October 10, 2026, and included complaints bordering on the omission of political parties, the inclusion of candidates whose names were absent from their parties’ membership registers and alleged multiple nominations.
Haruna said the commission reviewed the complaints, relevant records and applicable legal provisions before reaching its decisions.
INEC attributed the omissions to alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, which require political parties to submit their membership registers.
Addressing the gathering, Adebutu expressed confidence that the controversy surrounding his omission from INEC’s list would be resolved, maintaining that he remained a committed and bona fide member of the PDP.
He challenged those questioning his membership of the party to provide evidence of when he allegedly left the PDP, stressing that he had neither defected to the APC nor visited its secretariat.
Reaffirming his longstanding relationship with the PDP, Adebutu said he had consistently contested elections on the party’s platform over the past two decades.
“I have been the candidate of PDP for the last 20 years, every election cycle. My question is: at what stage did I leave or vacate the party? Where is the proof that for one day I have even visited the APC office, for that matter?
“I was actively involved in organising and financing the recent PDP membership registration exercise in the state, during which over 19,800 members were registered. My registration number was 1536.
“The controversy surrounding my name on the INEC list is an attempt to distract the opposition and disenfranchise voters, but I am assuring our supporters that this party will not lose focus,” Adebutu said.
