The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released its final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections, confirming Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun as the All Progressives Congress (APC) contender for the Ogun East Senatorial District while controversially omitting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, and his running mate.
Abiodun will face PDP’s Omotayo Olufemi Abdulhakeem in the Ogun East race. In Ogun Central, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s daughter, Iyabo Obasanjo, has been listed as the PDP senatorial candidate against the incumbent APC senator, Shuaibu Afolabi Salisu, who is seeking re-election.
The publication of the senatorial lists has, however, been overshadowed by the absence of Adebutu from the governorship ballot. INEC’s published list features 13 governorship candidates but no PDP nominee. The APC is represented by Senator Solomon Adeola (popularly known as Yayi), with Kudirat Balogun as his running mate.
INEC has offered no explanation for Adebutu’s omission. The development has triggered sharp political reactions in the state.
The Ogun PDP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Arc. Kayode Adebayo, insisted that Adebutu remains its legitimate candidate. The party urged supporters to stay calm and accused the ruling APC of mounting pressure on the electoral commission out of fear of defeat. It maintained that Adebutu fulfilled all membership registration requirements, including digital registration, verification and timely submission of documents to INEC. The party dismissed any suggestion that he had left the PDP.
“No amount of desperate manipulation, political witch-hunts, or calculated distractions can alter the mandate of the people of Ogun State,” the statement declared.
No response from the APC to the allegation was available at the time of this report. The commission’s list itself does not indicate any reason for the exclusion, leaving the status of the PDP ticket unresolved.
Analysts note that the next steps by INEC, the PDP and the affected candidates will be critical. Until an official clarification or amended list is issued, Adebutu’s governorship bid remains in limbo.
The senatorial contests, meanwhile, are shaping up as key battlegrounds. Abiodun’s move to the Senate and Iyabo Obasanjo’s return to the ballot add high-profile dimensions to Ogun’s 2027 political landscape, even as the governorship race is clouded by uncertainty.