The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed surprise over the omission of its governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, and his running mate, ’Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, from the final list of candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday.
The list, released by INEC Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony in Abuja, featured governorship and deputy governorship candidates from 13 political parties, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The commission did not provide an explanation for the PDP’s exclusion from the list.
However, the party attributed the development to what it described as the APC’s desperation to prevent its victory in the forthcoming governorship election.
Adebutu’s omission is believed to be connected to his absence from the list of party members submitted to INEC before the May 30 deadline.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the PDP’s Publicity Secretary in Ogun State, Kayode Adebayo, accused the ruling party of mounting undue pressure on the electoral commission.
“The public should be informed that the omission of our candidate’s name in INEC’s list is as a result of the undue pressure mounted by the ruling party on INEC out of fear of losing the election to our party,” Adebayo alleged.
He maintained that Adebutu had never left the PDP and was duly registered within the designated period for the party’s digital registration exercise.
According to him, Adebutu’s membership card had been printed, verified and submitted to INEC within the stipulated timeframe.
The PDP spokesperson urged residents of Ogun State to remain calm, expressing confidence that Adebutu’s name would eventually be published on the commission’s list.
He also insisted that the party’s candidate would emerge as the next governor of the state.
