Stop Blaming Us – APC Tackles PDP Over Adebutu’s Exclusion From INEC List

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State has slammed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for blaming it for excluding its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) final list of candidates for the 2027 election.

Naija News reports that the PDP had accused the ruling APC of pressuring INEC amid fears about the opposition party’s electoral prospects.

The party maintained that Adebutu had never resigned from the PDP and had completed its digital membership registration within the prescribed period.

In response, the Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the APC Campaign Council, Kayode Odunaro, defended INEC, saying the commission should be allowed to perform its duties under the law.

Odunaro urged the PDP to stop the blame game on the APC and its governorship candidate Solomon Adeola.

“APC and its candidates are contestants with other political parties’ candidates in the race towards 2027 under INEC as the umpire and regulatory body. How can anyone now attribute the failure of PDP to follow through on simple administrative procedures and adherence to rules of the game as pressure from APC on INEC leading to the non-listing of their candidate as a contestant.

“Besides, other candidates from other states suffered the same fate as factional PDP in Ogun State for similar non adherence to the law. The nationally comatose PDP should stop the blame game on APC and its flagbearer, Senator Solomon Adeola, for all their gambling tendencies in simple matters of following laid down rules,” Odunaro said.

He added that the APC and Adeola were prepared to contest against any candidate cleared by INEC, but argued that campaigning against a party whose candidate was not on the commission’s list would be a waste of time.

“Our stand on this is that APC and its candidate for the governorship race is campaigning to win based on proven and verifiable performance, capacity, equity and justice with its 9-Point ITESIWAJU Manifesto. We do not sympathize with any party or candidate that run foul of the rules of the game in any way.

“We all know what happens to a team fielding an ineligible player in a game of even football. More like scoring an own goal to lose the match, whatever other score on the scoreboard,” he said.