Daud Olatunji
The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has dismissed allegations challenging the eligibility of its 2027 governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, describing the claims as a politically motivated attempt to distract attention from controversies surrounding the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
The PDP, in a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Arc. Kayode Adebayo, said claims that Adebutu’s name was omitted from the party’s official membership register were “baseless” and intended to create confusion ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The party maintained that Adebutu remained a registered and financially up-to-date member of the PDP and insisted that the statutory requirements relating to party membership and the submission of membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission had been complied with within the stipulated period.
The development comes amid an increasingly heated political exchange between the PDP and APC over the 2027 governorship contest, with Adebutu and his supporters repeatedly questioning Adeola’s ancestry and Ogun State indigeneship. Adeola has rejected the allegations and threatened legal action against some of his accusers.
According to the PDP, the latest allegation against Adebutu was part of what it described as a “sponsored smear campaign” allegedly designed to divert public attention from issues it claimed were embarrassing to the ruling APC.
The opposition party specifically linked the alleged campaign to the continuing controversy over Adeola’s claimed Ogun ancestry.
The PDP said the APC should instead address questions being raised about Adeola’s political origin and his emergence as the party’s governorship candidate in Ogun after years of legislative representation in Lagos.
The party further alleged that the controversy over Adeola’s indigeneship had become a political vulnerability for the APC, which it claimed was seeking to shift public attention away from the issue.
The PDP also accused Adeola of allegedly diverting federal constituency projects originally meant for other states to Ogun State, claiming that such projects were subsequently presented as evidence of development and political achievement in the state.
The allegations could not be independently established from the material available, while Adeola and his political associates have rejected the PDP’s attacks. An APC campaign official, Kayode Oladele, recently accused Adebutu of focusing on personal attacks rather than policy issues and said Adeola would remain focused on his development agenda.
Rejecting the legal arguments reportedly advanced by the Ogun Democratic Accountability Forum, the PDP said questions concerning a candidate’s eligibility should be determined by the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the relevant judicial authorities, rather than statements issued by political groups.
The party also dismissed arguments concerning nomination fees and previous Supreme Court decisions, insisting that such issues must be considered within the specific constitutional and electoral provisions applicable to the 2027 election.
Adebayo said Adebutu’s nomination remained valid, urging INEC not to be swayed by what the party described as pressure from political proxies.
The PDP further urged its supporters and the people of Ogun State to disregard what it termed attempts to manufacture a crisis around Adebutu’s candidacy.
The party said it remained confident that its candidate had fulfilled the necessary requirements to participate in the 2027 governorship election.
The latest exchange adds to the growing political battle between the PDP and APC in Ogun State, where the two major parties have already clashed over Adeola’s ancestry, campaign activities and the records of their respective candidates.
Adebutu recently challenged Adeola to institute legal proceedings over claims concerning his ancestry, saying he was prepared to present documents in court. Adeola, through his media adviser, had earlier threatened legal action over allegations that he was originally from Ekiti State rather than Ogun.
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