Adebutu Vs. Gov. Abiodun
Honourable Oladipupo Adebutu, the 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State said he sees himself as the voice of opposition in the state hence no amount of intimidation by Governor Dapo Abiodun of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), will deter or silence him.
Speaking during the week at a media parley held in Abeokuta, Adebutu said he is passionate about good governance in the state, and so his resolve to expose the ills in the administration of Abiodun would not stop despite all intimidations by the governor or his supporters.
Adebutu, who is the leader of the PDP in Ogun, denied allegation of sponsoring political thugs to disrupt the last Saturday local government election in his home town, Iperu Remo.
He explained that the Policemen at his residence were assigned to him by the Police authorities since December 2022, maintaining they (Police) were not on any illegal assignment as being speculated.
Adebutu said,”I never left my house to vote during the November 16, talk less of carrying anyone around during the voting exercise. However, it was the APC thugs that were snatching boxes during the election.
“They have come up with various spurious allegations. I was invited by the DSS and Police, I honored the invitations and I gave them my words of peace, and they asked me to go in peace. If I am guilty of any of the allegations, I would have been charged to the court.
“The last local government election in the State was a sham. They never believed that PDP would participate in the election. The judgement delivered by the State High Court hours to the election shocked them.
“The OGSIEC commenced printing of ballot papers on Thursday and Friday because they never knew PDP will participate. This is logistically impossible for the election to be a success. There was no election in over 4000 polling units because election materials could not get to many local governments. However, they generated results in these areas. They printed two result sheets.”
“They alleged that I brought unassigned policemen into Iperu for the purpose of election. Let me state it here that the Policemen were assigned to me in December 2022. They have been with me in Iperu since that time to protect me from being attacked. My house is more of a garrison.
“I will follow the DSS if they invite me to Abuja because my hands are clean.”
Adebutu alleged that the current administration in the State has allegedly misappropriated N214bn funds allocated to LG areas, in the last 52 months with nothing to show for it.
“What are the money spent on? What has the State done with the quantum of money? The reason why they are pursuing me with the DSS , Police is because they did not want me to speak up on the issue. They cannot silence me. The fund is our common patrimony,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State government has described the allegation leveled against Governor Dapo Abiodun by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2023 polls in the state, Hon Ladi Adebutu, as the ranting of a drowning man.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Hon Kayode Akinmade, the Ogun State government said it was not surprised by the antics of the PDP chieftain, who it noted is currently under investigation by security agencies for acts of electoral violence and attempted murder, as he has acquired notoriety over the years for making baseless and empty claims that call his sanity into question.
The statement added that Adebutu has become like a wounded lion who is trying to save face after his recent travail at the hands of security agents over his electoral malfeasance on Saturday.
The statement said: “We do not find it shocking that a man who aspired to govern Ogun State but was roundly rejected by voters would claim that a governor who is not a signatory to local government accounts squandered council funds amounting to N214 billion in five years.
“That means, conceptually, that the said local governments did not pay any salaries and did not execute any projects in those five years, and it says a lot about a governorship candidate whose own running mate described him as a complete disaster.
“If Ladi Adebutu, a child in an adult body, knows anything at all about the art of governance, let alone the activities of the Ogun State Government under Prince Dapo Abiodun, he would not be making such flippant, hollow, and jejune accusations.
“The fact is that at no time did Governor Abiodun touch a dime of LG funds in Ogun State, but Adebutu has to entertain his crowd.
“It has become quite characteristic of this devious character to lie against Governor Abiodun with satanic fervor any time he is called upon to account for his rich biography of crimes.
“For instance, the fact is well known that apart from his recent case, he is standing trial for vote buying and conspiracy, and was a fugitive in a foreign land for months before returning home to utter ignominy.
“Ladi Adebutu is a drowning clown who believes that he can achieve through rabble-rousing and blackmail what he couldn’t achieve through the electoral and court processes, where he failed in his desperate and ruinous bid to unseat a popular democratically elected governor.
“He is a man adept at accusations and name-calling but a complete failure where enterprise, dignity, and discipline are called for. He is desperate to be relevant and in the news at all costs, and those taking him seriously need evaluation, just like he himself needs mental evaluation.
“Accused of sending thugs to snatch ballots during the local council polls on Saturday, Adebutu, in the video doing the rounds, openly said that he doesn’t mind violent change.
“He is a sinking ship looking for someone to drag along to hell with him and should be completely ignored by right-thinking people.”
