The Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is becoming jittery as the opposition party continues to grow stronger ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adebutu also dared the APC governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, to file a lawsuit against him for disputing his indigeneship claim, saying he has more than enough documents to establish that the senator is never an indigine of Ogun State.
He spoke on Wednesday during the PDP campaign rally in Odogbolu Local Government Area of the state, where he also accused the APC of allegedly removing campaign billboards and defacing posters of the opposition party across the state.
Adebutu, a former House of Representatives member, accused the ruling government in the state of intolerance, saying the PDP was prevented from staging its campaign at Idowa community despite fulfilling all legal requirements.
He explained that the PDP had to shift its campaign to Odogbolu town, stressing that any deliberate plot to block the opposition party from reaching the electorate will fail.
He said, “The truth is that APC is already jittery, they are in panic mode because they are well aware that the next government in power in the state come 2027 will be the PDP. They said we can’t have our billboards erected and now they are defacing and removing our posters, why are they afraid?
“They also said that we can’t have our campaign in Idowa but here we are in Odogbolu, the birthplace of my late mother, Dame Caroline Adebutu. What is really eating them up? I think it is because they knew quite alright that the end has come to their maladministration and bad governance in the state.
“They even shot at our windscreen and tyres today, that is the extent to which they can go but we are not going to run away from them. I am a bonafide indigene of Ogun State. My mother is from here in Odogbolu and my father, Sir Kesington Adebutu, is from Iperu. So, no controversy about where I came from.
“It is however sad that the APC governorship candidate, Senator Adeola commonly called Yayi is threatening to sue people because they said that he is from Ekiti State. Did he think that these people were talking about what is not real? I am daring their lawyers to sue me (too) because the truth is that Yayi is fake indigine of Ogun State.
“I am waiting for their lawyer to also sue me so that we can go and present all our documents in the court of law. They first claimed that they are from Joga, later they said Ishaga, Ilaro and all that…I am waiting for their lawyer to write me so that we can show the whole world the truth.”
Adebutu also criticised the APC governorship candidate over alleged diversion of projects, warning that such personality cannot be entrusted with the future of the state.
He said, “The senator is also neck-deep in project diversion. He is bringing projects for Enugu, Katsina and others to Ogun State, that is nothing but maladministration.
“What I am saying here today is nothing personal but about protecting the future of our dear state. So it is definitely sure that these are people without integrity and the competency that can help advance the growth and prosperity of our state and that is why residents of the state must chase them away with their votes come 2027.
“The hardship and bad governance must not be tolerated beyond 2027. Even the sitting governor has failed, so the people must reject APC in 2027.”
While promising that the PDP would make positive difference if elected in the next elections, Adebutu said true financial autonomy for local governments remained top priority of his administration.
He added, “People should vote for PDP because we are going to make the Local Government autonomy to work. The grassroots governance and development will be our top priority, the development must be encouraged to start from bottom to the top.
“We shall prioritise payment of gratuities of our pensioners. The government workers would have access to their Cooperative savings because we won’t touch it, they will always have access to their money to enhance their well-being whenever they want it.”
Speaking earlier, the PDP deputy governorship candidate, Alhaja Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, urged the people of the state to come out en masse with their voter cards to end the APC’s insensitive government come February 6, 2027.
She assured that the PDP would wipe away the tears of residents with its array of carefully designed programmes aimed at making life worth living and comfortable.
Also in his remarks, former Chairman of Remo North Local Government and ex-chairman of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state, Hon. John Obafemi, called on the people of the state to use their votes wisely and reject what he described as the bad government of APC.
He stressed that since PDP left power about 15 years ago, the APC successive governments have subjected the people to untold hardship and should therefore be rejected at the poll in 2027.
Obafemi, who recently resigned from the APC, described Adebutu as a leader committed to the betterment of the state, urging the electorate to support the opposition party’s quest to return to power in 2027.
Similarly, Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Zambia and Malawi, Folake Marcus-Bello, while speaking at the event, urged the people not to be distracted or intimidated by the APC governorship candidate’s threat of lawsuit.
Marcus-Bello said she stands by her claim that Adeola, currently representing Ogun West in the Senate, is not an indigine of Ogun State, adding that she would still reveal a lot more in the coming weeks.
She asked the people to prepare for a new dawn of good governance, development and accountability in the state, noting that the incoming government of PDP would restore the lost glory of the state.
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