Adebutu vows to continue Ogun campaign despite omission from INEC list

Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate Oladipupo Adebutu has rejected concerns over his absence from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s updated list of candidates for the 2027 Ogun governorship election, describing the issue as a temporary setback rather than an obstacle to his campaign. Adebutu spoke on Monday at the PDP secretariat in Abeokuta, where he received more than 1,000 defectors from the All Progressives Congress. The new members were led by Segun William, a former APC member of the House of Representatives, and were welcomed by Adebutu, his running mate Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo and other PDP figures.

Punch Nigeria reported that Adebutu and Sowunmi-Kolapo were missing from the list published on INEC’s website as of Friday, October 31. Channels Television described the omission as a temporary setback and said Adebutu sought to reassure supporters that it would not distract them from preparations for the election. The reports link the controversy to INEC’s review of petitions against final lists for governorship and state House of Assembly candidates.

INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee chairman, Mohammed Haruna, said the commission upheld 66 petitions and rejected 64. The complaints included alleged failures by parties to meet requirements under the Electoral Act, 2026, including submission of membership registers. Adebutu said he remained a bona fide, card-carrying PDP member and challenged anyone disputing that status to show when he had left the party.

He said he had never defected to the APC or visited its secretariat, and argued that he had stood as a PDP candidate during every election cycle for the past 20 years. He also said he had actively organised and financed the PDP’s recent membership registration exercise in Ogun, during which more than 19,800 people were registered. Adebutu said his registration number was 1536, presenting that as evidence that he had personally participated in the process preceding the party’s primary.

The candidate characterised the omission as an attempt to distract the opposition and disenfranchise voters, while saying the issue would eventually be resolved. He said the PDP’s mobilisation would continue, noting that the campaign had visited 12 of Ogun’s 20 local government areas and more than 140 of its 236 wards. William, who led the former APC members into the PDP, said they left because they believed the ruling party had failed to uphold democratic values and deliver meaningful development in Ogun.

He said the defectors intended to contribute to the state’s development through the PDP, although the supplied reports do not state how INEC will address Adebutu’s omission or when a revised list may be issued.