The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, has dismissed the omission of his name from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s list of governorship candidates as a temporary distraction, insisting that it will not stop him from contesting the 2027 election.

Adebutu spoke on Monday in Abeokuta while receiving more than 1,000 defectors from the All Progressives Congress into the PDP.

The defectors were led by former House of Representatives member, Segun William, and received alongside other party leaders, including the PDP Ogun Central senatorial candidate, Iyabo Obasanjo.

The PDP chieftain expressed confidence that the controversy surrounding his omission would be resolved, insisting that he remained a bona fide member of the party.

He cited his participation in PDP elections over the past two decades and his involvement in the party’s recent membership registration exercise, which he said recorded more than 19,800 members in Ogun State.

Adebutu also disclosed that the party had visited 12 of the state’s 20 local government areas and more than 140 of its 236 wards as part of its grassroots mobilisation ahead of the election.

Meanwhile, William said the defectors left the APC over dissatisfaction with its governance and development record in the state.