PDP Says Vote-Buying Will Not Override Nigerians’ Choice, Challenges APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared that money politics and financial inducements will not determine the outcome of the 2027 general elections, insisting that voters in Ogun State will make their decisions based on their convictions.

The party’s deputy governorship candidate in Ogun State, Hajia Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, stated this on Thursday during a condolence visit to a bereaved party supporter in Ijemo, Abeokuta.

The visit reportedly turned into a campaign gathering for the PDP governorship ticket of Ladi Adebutu and Kolapo.

She said politicians who believed they could secure electoral support by distributing money would only waste their resources, adding that financial inducements would not suppress the wishes of the electorate.

“The politics of throwing money around will only drain the spender rather than suppress the will of Ogun State indigenes and residents,” she said.

Kolapo explained that the PDP’s ward-to-ward campaign across the state had exposed what she described as growing dissatisfaction with the ruling APC among residents.

She also claimed that the party had continued to receive thousands of defectors from the APC despite what she described as propaganda surrounding the Independent National Electoral Commission’s exclusion of certain names from its list of candidates.

According to her, the development demonstrated that residents were prepared to express their political preferences through their votes in the forthcoming election.

Kolapo maintained that the PDP governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, remained committed to an agenda focused on the interests of Ogun State residents.

“Ladi Adebutu is the next governor of Ogun State. Let them continue spending,” she declared.

She described the 2027 governorship election in Ogun as an important test of whether financial influence and incumbency could override the choices of voters.

The PDP candidate also urged residents not to exchange their political rights and heritage for short-term financial benefits, insisting that their votes should reflect their expectations for the state’s future.

She said the Adebutu-Kolapo ticket was promoting an ‘Ogun for Ogun’ agenda, which she described as a commitment to ensuring that the state’s resources benefit its people.

During the gathering, some residents reportedly chanted slogans in support of the PDP and pledged to mobilise voters from house to house while protecting their votes.

A resident, Caleb Alao, from Oke-Ijemo, said he was dissatisfied with the APC administration, alleging that some projects and programmes initiated by the previous PDP government had been abandoned.

Also speaking, a community women leader, Folake Adeyemi, criticised the rising cost of food and school fees, saying residents wanted an administration that would address their economic difficulties.

The PDP maintained that the 2027 election would provide voters with an opportunity to decide the direction of governance in Ogun State.