ADEBUTU, A TRUSTWORTHY, RELIABLE POLITICIAN – ALAKE

The Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, on Sunday described the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, as a trustworthy and reliable politician while receiving him and other party leaders at the Ake Palace in Abeokuta.

Adebutu visited the palace to seek the support and blessings of the Egba Traditional Council ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

He was accompanied by his running mate, Lateefat Sowunmi-Kolapo; the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo; the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella; and other party leaders and candidates.

Speaking during the visit, Oba Gbadebo recalled his long-standing relationship with Adebutu’s father, businessman and philanthropist Sir Kensington Adebutu, citing his generosity as evidence of the family’s character.

“I have belonged to a particular club with Baba Adebutu for the past 30 years.

“In our early days, we rented an apartment where we held our meetings. However, we agreed that such an arrangement was not befitting of our club,” the monarch said.

He narrated how members of the club had planned to acquire a permanent secretariat but struggled to raise the required funds.

“Eventually, we found a building opposite the City Hall in Lagos and negotiated to purchase it. As members began contributing towards the cost, Baba Adebutu stood up and told us to keep the money we had contributed. He single-handedly paid for the building. That is the father of Oladipupo Adebutu,” he said.

Drawing a comparison between father and son, the monarch expressed confidence in the PDP candidate’s character.

“The son of a lion must resemble the lion. In fact, he is an even better version of his father.

“I welcome you to Egbaland. Your grandfather was buried at Ijeun Akoni, near Osiele. I am pleased to present Oladipupo Adebutu to all of you as a man who is trustworthy and reliable. May God be with you and continue to stand by you. Once again, I warmly welcome you, and I pray that you will never regret embarking on this journey,” the monarch said.

Addressing the traditional rulers, Adebutu pledged to grant full financial autonomy to local governments if elected governor.

“I will do something that will stun this nation and put us in the right direction. Local governments shall get their own money.

“We must make sure we get local government autonomy. I have been reiterating to you that I, Oladipupo Olatunde, son of Adebutu, was at the National Assembly twice, and I can boast that I didn’t embezzle public funds. How many politicians can say this?” he said.

“It’s not a party thing. Both APC and PDP, all the governors are embezzling local government allocations. It’s not a secret,” he alleged.

Adebutu argued that local councils delivered more development when they had direct access to their allocations.

“When PDP was in power and local governments were getting their funds, there were developments, and they carried monarchs along in the scheme of things,” he said.

The PDP candidate also said governments should adopt alternative financing models for infrastructure rather than relying on borrowing.

“You don’t borrow money for infrastructure anymore,” he said, while promising to improve road connectivity between Ogun State and Lagos.

He also pledged to prioritise electricity through partnerships with private investors, saying improved power supply would stimulate economic growth and create jobs.

Claiming to have made significant personal interventions in the power sector, Adebutu said he had donated more than 600 electricity transformers to communities across Ogun State.

“I can say categorically that I have distributed more transformers to communities across the state than the government has done,” he said.

“Any day we install a transformer in any community, it ceases to be mine. It becomes the property of the electricity distribution company, and I haven’t stopped because of that.

“Because I believe with electricity, it’s a direct empowerment for everybody. It is either saving you money that you will spend or it is helping you to make money,” he added.

Presenting himself as a candidate committed to public service, Adebutu said, “I offer myself for service.”

In his remarks, the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella, said meaningful development had eluded the state since the All Progressives Congress assumed office.

He expressed support for Adebutu’s proposal on local government autonomy, describing the PDP candidate as prepared to lead the state’s development.