2027: Adebutu receives APC defectors, downplays INEC omission

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 the development 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 Ogun Central senatorial candidate, Iyabo Obasanjo, as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.

It will be recalled that Adebutu and his running mate, Sowunmi-Kolapo, were missing from the updated list of governorship candidates for the 2027 election in the state, as published on INEC’s website as of Friday, October 31.

The Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, had said in a statement that the commission upheld 66 petitions challenging the final lists of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections and rejected 64 others.

The petitions reportedly followed the publication of the final lists of candidates on October 10, 2026, with 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.

He said the commission reviewed the complaints, relevant records and applicable legal provisions before reaching its decisions.

INEC had attributed the omissions to alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, requiring political parties to submit their membership registers

The commission said its position followed a September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment affirming the constitutionality of Section 77(5) to (7) of the Electoral Act, which makes the submission of membership registers mandatory.

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 as an attempt to distract the opposition and disenfranchise voters, but I am assuring our supporters that this party will not lose focus,” Adebutu said.

He further assured party supporters that the PDP would sustain its grassroots mobilisation across the state, regardless of what he described as attempts to distract the opposition.

According to him, the party had already made significant progress in its statewide mobilisation drive, covering several local government areas and wards.

“We have visited 12 of the 20 local governments. Of the 236 wards, we have visited over 140 now. Tomorrow again we continue, because we know that the trick is to get us distracted. We will not be distracted. We keep our eyes on the ball and we shall win,” Adebutu declared.

Earlier, William, who led the former APC members into the PDP, explained that their decision to leave the ruling party followed what he described as its failure to uphold democratic values and deliver meaningful development to Ogun State.

William, who traced his involvement in partisan politics to 2007, recalled that although some of his friends and associates had initially encouraged him to join the PDP, he eventually aligned with the APC.

He said his experience within the ruling party had, however, convinced him that a change of political platform was necessary, adding that the defectors were determined to contribute to the development of Ogun State through the PDP.

Describing the APC as a platform that had fallen short of democratic expectations, William said the party could no longer accommodate the aspirations of its members and the people of the state.

“We are seeking the progress of our dear Ogun State. My sincere appreciation goes first and foremost to our incoming governor, who has made this occasion possible, with the assistance of our deputy governor, our senator, the directors-general, party members, the party hierarchy and the state chairman,” William said.