James Sowole in Abeokuta
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18, 2023 election in Ogun state, Ladi Adebutu, yesterday visited the headquarters of the state police command to clear the air on the vote buying and money laundering allegations levelled against him by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Adebutu was accompanied to the police headquarters by some PDP chieftains, including a former governorship aspirant, Segun Sowunmi and on arrival went straight into the office of the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu.
Adebutu, who was reported to have travelled to the United Kingdom on a medical trip immediately after losing the governorship election arrived Nigeria on Saturday evening.
The ruling APC had filed a petition against Adebutu and the PDP, accusing them of vote buying and money laundering during the governorship election in the state.
Adebutu’s visit to the police headquarters, was in response to the police invitation on the APC’s petition.
Adebutu after visiting the commissioner, went to the office of the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CID) and spent about 30 minutes.
Speaking with journalists shortly after his visit, Adebutu explained that he was at the command’s headquarters to clear the air on the petition written by the APC.
He described the allegations as frivolous and untrue, adding that he visited the police on his own volition.
Adebutu said: “Some funny innuendos have been going around and I thought maybe we will clear the air, so I came here on my free volition to clear any frivolous petition written by the APC and their ilk.
“I have come and I’m happy that this institution has done well, they have listened, they have taken records and I’m sure that this is the way to a better Nigeria.
“The frivolous allegations that Ladi Adebutu has been laundering his money, I don’t know how you can launder your personal wealth. That is the allegation against me by the APC, that I have laundered my money, that I have used my money to create empowerment for people that I feel compassionate about.
“ Nigerians that are in need, that I have helped, that I will continue to help, especially when on this occasion, it was dictated by my late mother to be of help to women and children.
“We have done empowerment programmes and we will continue to do and on January the 19, 2024 which marked one year of her passing away, we will be having special programmes again to continue these empowerment programmes as we have done over years.
“But because these people (APC) lack empathy, they lack compassion for society, they trivilise and politicise everything, they have learnt to weaponise poverty and when they seen anybody moving away from such a situation, they politicise it.”
He accused the APC of disrupting the normal process of electioneering, vowing to get justice at the Supreme Court.
