Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, has vowed to improve workers’ welfare, and address economic hardship imposed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if elected governor.

Mr Adebutu stated this to a crowd of supporters from the 20 Local Government Areas of the state, at the Ake Palace Pavilion, in Abeokuta, during the inauguration of his governorship campaign, ahead of the 2027 election.

The governorship candidate said, “We deeply acknowledge the excruciating agony our people have been subjected to for 15 unbroken years, stretching from 2011 to this very hour. You have endured a regime of suffocating hardship, unparalleled neglect, and economic strangulation largely as a consequence of maladministration and obvious corruption; this we will address appropriately in due course.

“Happily, I bring you good tidings as the tide turns today, as we march relentlessly towards the 2027 elections which will bring comfort and relief – ITURA DE as our programmes’ acronym depicts. We step forward for this sacred duty because we possess the character and heritage to carry our state to greater heights.

“Our master plan for total socio-economic liberation is enshrined in our commitment to deliver good governance, quality service to the people and share a pedigree of prosperity through the implementation of five key cardinal programmes namely: Building strategic state infrastructure, entrepreneurial development of our people and workforce, steering a strong and resilient economy, stimulating functional and livable communities; ensuring accountability, transparency and a corruption-free work environment.”

Mr Adebutu reminded residents that the PDP, when it was in power, unconditionally prioritised human dignity, monumental infrastructural development, and the sacred welfare of the citizenry, while also ensuring wealth creation, direct reward for labour, payment of pensions and gratuities as well as timely remittance of cooperative contributions.

He said, “I stand before you today, humbled by the weight of destiny and profoundly grateful to the Peoples Democratic Party for entrusting me with the responsibility of being the gubernatorial flag bearer of our great party. The PDP remains the undisputed fortress of the masses, fiercely and uncompromisingly dedicated to the people.

“Delivering true, tangible dividends of democracy is not merely our political mission; it is our unbreakable covenant with the people of Ogun State. History stands as our irrefutable witness: under the PDP, human dignity, monumental infrastructural development, and the sacred welfare of the citizenry were unconditionally elevated above all else.

“We must summon the memory of our golden epoch—the prosperous years of 2003 to 2011—when our local governments breathed with absolute vitality and functional autonomy. In that era, our local economy roared to life because our PDP government believed in you, enforcing policies that ensured wealth creation particularly at the grassroots; the perusal of all indices of development attests to this fact.”

He added that during the PDP years, citizens who labored for the state were directly rewarded; pensions, gratuities paid, and cooperative contributions remitted as and when due.