The Peoples Democratic Party’s deputy governorship candidate in Ogun State, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, has expressed confidence that the controversy surrounding the party’s governorship ticket will be resolved ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

Sowunmi-Kolapo spoke on Friday after Jumat prayers at the headquarters of the Nawair-ud-deen Society in Abeokuta, where she also received the endorsement and prayers of leaders of the Muslim organisation.

Her comments followed the exclusion of PDP governorship candidate Ladi Adebutu and Sowunmi-Kolapo herself from the final list of candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the Ogun governorship election.

Sowunmi-Kolapo said she believed the development was unintentional and expressed confidence in the ability of INEC and its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to address the matter. She also praised Amupitan’s professional reputation and said she expected the commission to protect its integrity and conduct a credible election.

However, INEC has since given an explanation for the exclusion. The commission said the affected political parties failed to comply with statutory requirements concerning the submission of membership registers under Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026. The explanation means the circumstances surrounding the omission cannot accurately be described simply as an administrative error without acknowledging INEC’s stated position.

Sowunmi-Kolapo also criticised the reaction of members of the All Progressives Congress to the development, describing their celebration as premature. She maintained that the PDP remained committed to its political campaign and said the party would continue pursuing what it described as its ITURA DE agenda for Ogun State.

The PDP deputy governorship candidate further argued that the party’s proposed administration would focus on residents’ welfare, economic opportunities and stronger local government autonomy. She also questioned the political calculations surrounding the omission of the PDP ticket and maintained that the development would not permanently derail the party’s preparations for the election.

Earlier, leaders of the Nawair-ud-deen Society prayed for the success of Sowunmi-Kolapo and Adebutu and urged members of the Muslim community to support the PDP ticket. The development comes as the party faces an unresolved dispute over its eligibility to field the ticket, with Adebutu previously saying he had taken steps to challenge his exclusion from INEC’s list.

INEC’s official timetable schedules the Ogun State governorship election for March 6, 2027. Any report on the controversy should therefore use that date rather than the February 6 date contained in some earlier reports.