Ogun 2027: Iyabo Obasanjo returns to PDP, backs Adebutu

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By James Ogunnaike

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Former Senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, has formally returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), barely one week after she resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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The daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo made her return known on Monday at the PDP Secretariat in Abeokuta, during the unveiling of Alhaja Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, former Group Business Editor of The PUNCH, as the party’s deputy governorship candidate.

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Obasanjo, a former Ogun State Commissioner for Health, was warmly received by party faithful amid cheers and applause shortly after returning from the United States.

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Speaking at the programme, the former lawmaker expressed confidence in the electoral prospects of the PDP governorship candidate, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, declaring that the party would emerge victorious in the 2027 governorship election.

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While reserving detailed comments until her official reception into the party, Obasanjo hinted at unresolved grievances stemming from her experience in the APC.

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“I actually have a lot to say. There are many people that we shall call out, but I will not say anything now until you organise my official welcome back into the party,” she said.

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Addressing the PDP deputy governorship candidate, she added:
“I want to greet our deputy governorship candidate. I am convinced that you will be our next deputy governor.”

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She also threw her weight behind Adebutu’s governorship ambition, saying: “I want to thank our incoming governor from 2027, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, because he has really tried to become governor of the state for the first, second and third time. But this time, God is saying that he will be our next governor now that I am joining the party.”

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Recall that Obasanjo resigned from the APC through a letter dated May 31 and addressed to the Ogun State APC Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi.

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In the letter, she faulted the process that led to the emergence of Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the party’s consensus governorship candidate.

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According to her, despite assurances that stakeholders would be consulted before a consensus candidate was adopted, the party leadership failed to engage her before announcing Adeola as its preferred aspirant.

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She further alleged that some of her supporters were denied access to the venue where the consensus arrangement was unveiled.

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The former senator noted that although she accepted the decision in the interest of party unity and publicly congratulated Adeola, subsequent events deepened her sense of exclusion.

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She disclosed that Adeola later visited her and promised to consider requests made on behalf of her supporters but allegedly failed to follow through after the meeting.

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She said the development reinforced her conviction that she was no longer valued within the APC, ultimately prompting her decision to resign.

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Obasanjo formally joined the APC in January after her registration as a member in Ward 11, Ibogun, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.

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She served as Ogun State Commissioner for Health between 2003 and 2007 before representing Ogun Central Senatorial District in the Senate from 2007 to 2011.

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