Entertainment & SocietyWill Ladi Adebutu's dream to govern Ogun State ever come to fruition?

Will Ladi Adebutu’s dream to govern Ogun State ever come to fruition?

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With the series of crises currently rocking the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun state, one is forced to wonder if Ladi Adebutu’s age-long dream to govern the state will ever come to pass. Ever since he announced his intentions to join the race earlier this year a second time, issues keep cropping up making it seem as if seeking the number one position from the opposition party is jinxed.

First, two parallel primaries were held that saw Adebutu and Segun Showunmi, an ally of Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, both emerging governorship candidates. One of the aspirants Jimi Lawal dragged the PDP, Adebutu and the Independent National Electoral Commission to court, challenging the authenticity of the delegates list used for the primaries.

He argued that the delegates were not democratically elected at the ward, local council and state congresses, hence the panel could not unilaterally or arbitrarily impose the list on the party. He prayed the court to, among others, nullify or set aside the primary. It took the issuing of a certificate of return to Adebutu, who is a former member of the House of Representatives, by the PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu before it became clear that he is the authentic candidate for the governorship position for the 2023 general election. But Lawal was not appeased. He continued with the court case which prompted many to assume that Governor Nasir El- Rufai of Kaduna State, under whom he (Lawal) served before defecting to the PDP to contest the primary is the one instigating him to disrupt Ogun PDP. But Lawal claims nothing could be farther than the truth.

Glo

In September, a Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta answered Lawal’s prayers and nullified all primary elections conducted by the various factions of the PDP in the state, (governorship, state house of assembly, house of representatives, senate). The court declared that all the primaries conducted by the PDP in the state were not in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

Thus Justice Oguntoyinbo stopped INEC from recognising Adebutu, who had been declared the governorship candidate and called for a rerun of the primaries within 14 days of the judgment. The judgment also prevented the national body of the PDP from organising the rerun primary. It rather ordered the state executive to handle it. The court also barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Adebutu as the governorship candidate of the party in the state. Adebutu had allegedly, initially agreed for the rerun but later changed his mind saying that he would appeal the judgment.

At the expiration of the 14 days, Lawal conducted his own primary rerun where Adebutu and Showunmi scored zero votes. Lawal was subsequently suspended by the party for anti-party activities, an action Lawal considers laughable adding that his name would be submitted to INEC as the governorship candidate of Ogun PDP. Well, time is fast ticking and the earlier the judgement for the appeal filed by the state’s PDP and Adebutu, comes out, the better or the party faces an uphill task of running against time and being unable to field candidates in any of the elections billed to hold in 2023.

Considered one of the pillars of the PDP in the South-West zone of Nigeria, Ladi, unlike others who lack the basic principles of loyalty, has remained true and faithful to the party despite the many disappointments he has gone through as a party member. He has also stayed true to his vow to govern Ogun State one day, refusing to jettison his dream despite several challenges like the power play between him and the late Senator Buruji Kashamu, which cost him victory in 2019.

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