A Familiar Crisis Returns
The political future of Oladipupo Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State, has been thrown into uncertainty after his exclusion from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s list of candidates. The development casts a long shadow over his ambition to contest the February 6, 2027 governorship election and raises fresh questions about the internal stability of the PDP in Ogun State.
Adebutu, who hails from Iperu, polled 262,383 votes in the March 18, 2023 governorship election. His name, alongside that of his running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, was left off INEC’s final list, placing him in an uncomfortable position despite his insistence that he was duly registered as a party member and qualified to contest.
INEC’s Position on the Omission
The electoral commission has defended its decision. In a statement issued by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, INEC maintained that the PDP failed to comply with the requirement to submit its membership register before conducting valid primaries. Although the party petitioned the commission over Adebutu’s omission, his name did not appear on the final list after the 14-day window for appeals expired.
For a politician seeking another opportunity to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress in Ogun State, the controversy has become a battle over his political future, with the outcome likely to shape the PDP’s prospects in the state.
Echoes of the 2019 Contest
The situation is a familiar predicament for Adebutu, who faced a similar challenge ahead of the 2019 governorship election when a leadership crisis produced two factions and competing candidates. At the time, two factions of the party conducted separate governorship primaries. Adebutu emerged from the primary conducted by the National Working Committee led by Uche Secondus, while the late Senator Buruji Kashamu emerged from a parallel exercise conducted by the Adebayo Dayo-led state executive faction.
Adebutu eventually lost the ticket after a Federal High Court directed INEC to recognise Kashamu as the party’s candidate. Eight years later, another internal disagreement has placed his governorship ambition in jeopardy once more.
The National Leadership Crisis at the Root
Findings reveal that the root cause of Adebutu’s exclusion can be traced to the prolonged leadership crisis at the PDP’s national level. The party has remained divided between two rival factions. One, backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is led by Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman. The other, led by former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Kabiru Turaki, also lays claim to the party’s national leadership.
Although the Mohammed-led executive is recognised by INEC, both factions conducted parallel membership registration exercises within the stipulated period. Adebutu’s association with the Turaki-led faction is said to be the major issue in the controversy surrounding his exclusion.
An Ogun PDP official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Adebutu registered with the faction whose activities were rejected by INEC. According to the source, the governorship hopeful’s name was missing from the digital membership register submitted to the commission by the Mohammed-led executive before the party’s primary.
“His name is not on the party digital register that was submitted to INEC, 21 days to the PDP primary election in the state by the Mohammed-led exco of the party. He registered with the Turaki-led faction of the party. This is why even after the 14-day window of appeal, INEC still did not publish his name,” the source said.
Allegations of Political Targeting
A party leader in the state, Gbenga Akanji, blamed the Wike-backed faction for Adebutu’s exclusion, alleging that the faction was targeting the governorship hopeful because of his relationship with the Turaki-led faction. Akanji questioned why INEC published the name of Iyabo Obasanjo, who defected from the APC to the PDP days before the party’s senatorial primary, as its candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District, while excluding Adebutu, whom he described as a long-standing member of the party.
“This is pure politics. How can Iyabo Obasanjo’s name be on the list and Adebutu, who has been a member of the party for over 20 years, could not make the list? I think this is the handiwork of the Wike-led faction, which felt Adebutu should be punished because of his relationship with the Turaki faction,” he said.
“How can anyone say Adebutu is not a member of the PDP? I believe his name was removed from the party register because of his association with the Turaki faction,” he added.
Adebutu Rejects Doubts Over His Membership
Adebutu has rejected questions about his membership of the PDP, describing the omission of his name as a deliberate attempt to undermine his political ambition. Speaking on Monday at the party’s state secretariat in Abeokuta, he said he actively participated in organising and funding the recent membership registration exercise in Ogun, during which more than 19,800 members were registered.
He disclosed that his registration number was 1536, insisting that he was duly registered and qualified to contest the governorship election. “Why shouldn’t my name come out? I was duly registered and orchestrated the registration exercise in this state,” he said, adding that INEC’s conduct of the party’s primary was evidence that his membership had been recognised.
The former governorship candidate also accused the APC and its governorship candidate, Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, of attempting to weaken the opposition and pave the way for an uncontested election. “They want to shut us up and make sure they run unopposed. But we will resist it,” he said.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his candidacy, Adebutu has maintained that the development would not derail his campaign. He said the party had visited 12 local government areas in the state and would not allow the controversy to distract it from its preparations. “We have no fear at all. It has not slowed us down. We will not be distracted; we will keep our eyes on the ball,” he added.
Party Chieftains Express Confidence
His confidence is shared by some PDP chieftains in the state, who believe the matter will eventually be resolved through INEC’s administrative process or litigation. A former Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area, Wale Adedayo, said he had no doubt that Adebutu would eventually make the ballot, insisting that the PDP had only one recognised faction in Ogun State.
Adedayo questioned INEC’s decision to publish the names of 38 out of the 40 candidates submitted by the party while excluding Adebutu and his running mate. “I’m sure the issue will be resolved soon. Ladi will be on the ballot, I have no doubt about it, either through the courts or through the normal administrative process. There are no two factions of PDP in Ogun State. So, you can’t say you are taking 38 candidates and you are rejecting two when it is the same national secretariat that forwarded their names to you. On what basis?”
Adedayo, who said Adebutu had been funding the party, described the development as an unprecedented interference in the internal affairs of a political party. He argued that INEC had no authority to determine candidates presented by political parties, citing Supreme Court pronouncements on the matter.
“In Nigeria, the major problem we have is impunity. We have had a lot of impunity being done over the years. It is the first time in the history of Nigeria, not even during the first republic, second republic or the third republic, that this kind of thing has happened,” he said.
“It has never happened that a political party will submit the list of its candidates and the electoral body will say no, they are removing one or two,” he added.
What Lies Ahead
With the controversy yet to be resolved, Adebutu’s path to the 2027 ballot now depends on administrative remedies or judicial intervention. The outcome will not only determine his political future but also test the resilience of the PDP in Ogun State as it seeks to mount a credible challenge to the ruling APC.
