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Daud Olatunji
Hundreds of residents, community leaders and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party in Obantoko communities in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State have pledged their support to the party’s 2027 governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, and his running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo.
The statement was made on Friday when Sowunmi-Kolapo, the PDP deputy governorship candidate, met with community stakeholders and party supporters from American Junction, Asalu, Akete, Akinyele, Akepe Oluwa, Kangudu and other communities in Obantoko area.
The meeting, which began as a stakeholders’ meeting, turned into an electoral mobilization as residents described Kolapo as “one of us” due to her residence in the community and pledged to work towards the success of the PDP in the 2027 elections.
The development comes days after the PDP formally began its 2027 governorship campaign in Ogun State, with Adebutu unveiling a manifesto that includes a promise to restore local government autonomy.
Residents said Obantoko, which they described as a “PDP community”, will seek to deliver what they call massive votes for Adebutu and other party candidates.
The meeting was attended by PDP state leaders, district executives, party supporters and Dele Olaleye, the party’s House of Representatives candidate for Abeokuta North, Obafemi-Owode/Odeda Federal Constituency.
Chairman of the PDP in Obantoko Ward, Ezekiel Adeleye, said Kolapo’s presence in the community has strengthened his relationship with residents.
Adeleye said residents view the lieutenant governor candidate as a neighbor rather than a politician who only appears during election campaigns.
He recalled what he described as his intervention when residents were raising money to repair a transformer in the community.
“You are one of us and we will vote for you. I don’t want us to miss this opportunity.
“You live here with us. The community leaders still remember your kind gesture a few years ago, when they told you that we were contributing money to repair our transformer. You said that they should refund the owners what they had paid so far and you provided the money.”
Adeleye promised that the community will mobilize support for Adebutu and other PDP candidates in the 2027 elections.
“This is our collective struggle. We will unite the people to vote for Honorable Ladi Adebutu and all other PDP candidates in the 2027 general elections,” he said.
The state vice president of the PDP, Abiodun Ogunremi, who represented the state president, Abayomi Tella, urged residents to maintain community support for the party.
“We call ourselves PDP community for a reason and we must show our love for PDP next year too,” Ogunremi said.
He said the area had performed well for the party in previous elections and urged residents to replicate the performance in 2027.
“We have six polling stations and they call us PDP communities. We will repeat the feat achieved during the last elections,” he added.
Ogunremi also accused unnamed political actors of trying to impose “outsiders” on the people, urging voters to look into the background and ancestry of political candidates.
“Ask them what their ancestors are. They have none in Ogun State. So, don’t give outsiders any chance to govern us and don’t allow them to intimidate you during the poll,” he said.
Ogunremi also highlighted what he described as Adebutu’s philanthropic interventions outside government, including the provision of transformers to communities.
“Adebutu is not yet in government and he has done miracles. His father also empowered the people. No less than 700 transformers have been distributed by Adebutu to different communities across Ogun,” he said.
He appealed to residents to vote for the PDP, linking the party’s campaign to the economic hardships faced by Nigerians.
“Poverty will end and there will be full good governance once he is voted governor. So, let us reject hardship by voting en masse for all PDP candidates,” Ogunremi said.
Likewise, PDP board member Fasiu Bakenne urged residents to protect their votes and resist intimidation during the elections.
PDP House of Assembly candidate in the 2023 elections, O. Kenny, has urged residents to support Adebutu’s promise to restore local government autonomy.
He argued that greater financial and administrative independence for councils would allow communities to benefit more directly from the resources allocated to their local governments.
“Stick to your vows. Odeda alone has an allocation of between 300 and 400 million naira. If the promised local government autonomy materializes, imagine the benefits that will accrue,” Kenny said.
Olaleye, the PDP House of Representatives candidate for Abeokuta North, Obafemi-Owode/Odeda Federal Constituency, also linked the realization of local government autonomy to the election of Adebutu.
“Your votes will help realize Adebutu’s effort to restore local government autonomy to Ogun,” he said.
Adebutu has publicly made local government autonomy a central component of his 2027 electoral agenda.
Addressing the gathering, Sowunmi-Kolapo urged residents to mobilize voters in their families and communities for the PDP ticket.
He cited Adebutu’s philanthropic activities during the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence of his commitment to residents even when he was not in government.
“Can you name anyone who remembered us during COVID-19 and was not in government and did not have access to public funds? That’s just Adebutu,” he said.
Kolapo urged residents to vote for Olaleye, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo and other PDP candidates before voting for Adebutu in the governorship election.
He also told voters to protect their ballots and resist intimidation.
“They might want to offer you money, the money is yours, take their money and vote for LADI,” he said.
The statement was followed by the PDP campaign song, “ITURA TIDE,” meaning “relief has come,” which drew cheers from the gathering.
“This suffering is enough. You know that the first elections (Presidential and National Assembly) will determine a lot. So, vote for Dele Olaleye and then vote for Senator Iyabo Obasanjo and all other PDP candidates. Then vote for Adebutu as governor,” he added.
Sowunmi-Kolapo was formally introduced as Adebutu’s vice president in June 2026, with the PDP describing her selection as part of its preparations for the 2027 governorship election.
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