Nigeria: Obasanjo says Adebutu’s absence will not hurt PDP
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
Iyabo Obasanjo, the People’s Democratic Party’s senatorial candidate in Ogun State, says Ladi Adebutu’s omission from the electoral list will not reduce the party’s chances in 2027. She says the governorship candidate’s name will be reinstated and denounces a threat to democracy, Punch reports.
Iyabo Obasanjo, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Senate in Ogun Central, said the omission of Ladi Adebutu from the list published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would not undermine the party’s chances in the 2027 elections. She said on Thursday that the name of the PDP’s candidate for governor of Ogun State would be reinstated, Punch reported.
The former senator for Ogun Central said Ladi Adebutu’s exclusion threatened electoral competition. She accused powerful political interests of seeking to sideline a rival rather than defeat him at the ballot box, while other PDP candidates had reportedly followed the same nomination procedures.
Iyabo Obasanjo warned that manipulating electoral institutions to prevent candidates considered competitive from taking part could weaken Nigerian democracy. INEC, the commission responsible for organising national elections, recently published a list that did not include Ladi Adebutu’s name.
