The Peoples Democratic Party senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo, has expressed confidence that the omission of the party’s governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, from the list of contestants recently published by the Independent National Electoral Commission will not affect the party’s chances in the 2027 elections.
Obasanjo, a former senator who represented Ogun Central between 2007 and 2011, said the PDP remained determined to perform strongly in the state, insisting that Adebutu’s name would eventually be restored to the INEC list.
Speaking in an interview with journalists on Thursday, Obasanjo dismissed suggestions that the controversy surrounding Adebutu’s name could weaken the PDP’s chances in the state, insisting that the development could instead expose the opposition’s alleged fear of a competitive election.
“No. Our people are firm in what they want to do. I believe Ladi’s name will be back,” she said.
The former Ogun State Commissioner for Health described Adebutu’s omission as a threat to democracy, alleging that powerful political interests were attempting to eliminate competition rather than win elections through the ballot.
She said she initially dismissed reports of Adebutu’s omission because the lists of senatorial and House of Representatives candidates had already been published.
However, she said further inquiries raised questions about why the governorship candidate’s name was missing when other PDP candidates had completed similar processes.
Obasanjo added, “What is it that Honourable Ladi did differently than what we did? And when I asked that question, I have a scientific mind. The answer was, he did the exact same thing, right? That we all did.”
“The next question is then why is his name not in the list?”
Obasanjo alleged that political opponents had taken steps to influence the situation, describing such actions as illegal.
She expressed confidence that Adebutu’s name would eventually be restored, warning that allowing politicians to manipulate electoral institutions to exclude perceived challengers could undermine democracy.
“If this happens, then a democracy will crash because everybody that is a money bag will go to Abuja and give the neutral institution money to remove anybody they think can beat them,” she said.
The PDP candidate urged Nigerians to view the controversy as a broader test of the country’s commitment to democratic principles, arguing that it was not just about Adebutu or the party.
“It is not even about Honourable Adebutu, it’s not about PDP, it’s about the democracy Nigeria runs,” she said.