The 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of lacking empathy and weaponising poverty.

He said this when he left the State Police Headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta.

“We have done empowerment programmes and we will continue to do them. By January 19th, 2024, which marks one year after her passing away, we will be having special programmes again to continue these empowerment programmes as we have done over the years. But because these people (APC) lack empathy, they lack compassion for society, and they trivialise and politicise everything. They have learnt to weaponise poverty and when they saw anybody moving away from such a situation, they politicise this,” he said.

Peoples Gazette had reported that Mr Adebutu, in obedience to a police invitation, turned himself in on Wednesday over allegations of vote buying and money laundering levelled against him by the ruling All Progressives Congress, a matter which is already in court.

Mr Adebutu, accompanied by his party chieftains, arrived at the station around 11:10 a.m. and moved straight to the Commissioner’s office, after which he visited the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, CIID.

The assistant publicity secretary of the APC in the state, Olusola Blessed, in a statement issued on Tuesday, had welcomed the PDP candidate back to the country after spending about seven months in the United Kingdom but asked him to report to the authorities over the allegations.

Speaking to journalists shortly before leaving the Command’s premises, Mr Adebutu explained that he visited the station of his own volition to clear the air on APC’s allegations against him.

“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 irks.

“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 but they should note, 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.

“I’m back in the country and I await them. All they were doing to disrupt the normal process of electioneering, we had elections and the matter went through the courts, but that process they tried to truncate, to make sure the process would not be truncated, we had to arrange our movement, the matter has arrived at the Supreme Court and we are certain that we shall get justice,” he stated.