• Decries exclusion from INEC’s list
• OmoOwo laments stunted development in Ogun East
• PDP, APC trade words over Adebutu’s omission from INEC’s final list

The 2027 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, has highlighted local council autonomy and border community development as key components of his agenda if elected as governor.

Adebutu disclosed this while addressing the people of Remo during the PDP campaign tour of the area, stating that his Itura De agenda would return power to the people through functional council autonomy.

According to him, local councils should play a stronger role in addressing grassroots needs and determining development priorities within their communities.

MEANWHILE, the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State have traded words over the omission of Adebutu from INEC’s final list ahead the 2027 elections.

The state’s PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella, described the development as laughable and a reprisal attack from the APC to counter the claim on Solomon Adeola’s indigeneship.

Also, the PDP’s Publicity Secretary, Kayode Adebayo, in a statement, alleged that the omission of Adebutu and his running mate’s names was due to undue pressure mounted on INEC by the APC, out of fear that the ruling party would lose to the PDP in the 2027 elections.

The APC, on its own, denied putting pressure on INEC to omit Adebutu’s name on the list, describing the allegation as “baseless and tissue of lies”, stressing that at no time did Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, meet with INEC’s officials to remove Adebutu’s name on the list.

The PDP candidate also emphasised strategic investment in border communities, saying that improved infrastructure and economic activity could help such areas contribute more to Ogun State’s development.

He further identified Ogun’s proximity to Lagos as an opportunity for stronger economic connections and growth.

Also, in a statement by Media Director for the Ogun East Senatorial District, “Omo-Owo for Senate” 2027, Bosun Davies Shoyoye, the Ogun East senatorial candidate, Abdul-Hameed Femi Omotayo, popularly known as Omo-Owo, called for visible development within the senatorial district.

However, Adebutu yesterday said that the circumstances surrounding his exclusion from the final list of governorship candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the weekend raised “serious questions.”

According to him, all the other party’s candidates for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives and senatorial positions appeared on the published lists except him and his running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo.

In a statement by the Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the APC Campaign Council in Ogun State, Kayode Odunaro, the APC said that the PDP’s allegation was a testament of its impending electoral defeat by the ruling party.

He said that the PDP resorting to cheap blackmail, baseless rumours, and dramatic allegations showed that the main opposition party lacked a credible campaign strategy ahead of the 2027 general elections.