The 2023 Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, has revealed why he was not successful at the poll.
The governorship contender said that he could not repay violence for violence just for him to become the state governor.
Speaking at the remembrance ceremony of his great-grandfather, Alimi Adebutu, he attributed his loss in the governorship race to his commitment to non-violence amidst alleged electoral disruptions led by thugs.
Addressing newsmen at the event in Ijeun-Akoni, a remote community, Adebutu discussed the challenges he faced during the March 18 governorship election, where he contested against the incumbent, Governor Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress.
Both candidates hail from the same area, Iperu Remo in Ikenne Local Government Area.
Adebutu claimed that his refusal to engage in violent tactics was a principal factor behind his electoral defeat.
He explained that political thugs reportedly disrupted voting processes in 99 polling units across Ogun East and Ogun Central senatorial districts by snatching and destroying ballot boxes, according to the Punch.
He said, “The reason why 99 polling booths in the last elections were destroyed was because I refused that my people should repay violence with violence. I cannot be part of the process of spilling blood. This is because I believe life continues after death. I am always being careful.
“I believe in life after death, that is me. That is why you will see in the kind of politics that I play. You will never see violence, you will never see desperation.”
The opposition party, APC, has however, countered Adebutu’s comments.
The party, through its spokesman, Tunde Oladunjoye, opined that those comments were intended to garner popularity ahead of future electoral contests.
“Let him be campaigning after the election. The public knew those who engaged in violence and other criminalities. They are not that forgetful,” Oladunjoye remarked.
