Former governorship candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election in Ogun State, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, has alleged that there was a plot to silence him as the voice of the opposition in the State.
Adebutu stated this on Tuesday in a statement he personally signed after his release by the Department of State Services (DSS) over accusations bordering on his actions during the last weekend’s local government elections which took place in the state on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
In the statement titled: “My Experience and Release from the DSS”, the former governorship candidate confirmed his arrest and release from DSS detention at about 7am on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
“I was released by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abeokuta following an invitation to answer to various spurious accusations all arising from the November 16 Local Government election in Ogun State.
“Very sadly, the allegations were so baseless that it became clear that their purpose was to silence me as a voice of the opposition. My contention that those elections were not free and fair is my fundamental right to free speech and free thought,” Adebutu said.
“Mr President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, shares the same view as mine which shows it is not a partisan position but a nationalistic one.
“However, because of the particular situation of Ogun State over the last five years which I shall publish shortly, desperation has set in to emasculate the third tier of government completely, this is the struggle for our development,” he said.
He, however, commended the professionalism and fairness by the DSS in treating the situation till date, particularly, during his detention in their office.
Praising various institutions of state, Adebutu also “acknowledged the judiciary for the forthright judgement we were able to obtain from the Ogun State High Court on Friday, 15th November, 2024 in suit AB/784/2024, a suit filed for the purpose of excluding the Peoples Democratic Party from participating in the Local Government elections.”
He also thanked all stakeholders, well-wishers and those he called non-well-wishers, noting, “together, we must move the narration forward and arrive at good governance.”
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