2027: INEC Explains Why It Excluded Ladi Adebutu From Ogun Governorship Candidates’ List

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why it excluded the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, from its final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship election.

The commission told the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that Adebutu’s name was missing from the membership register submitted by the PDP, making it impossible for the electoral body to verify his membership of the party.

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INEC disclosed its position in a counter-affidavit filed in response to a suit instituted by the PDP and Adebutu, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2573/2026, seeking an order compelling the commission to recognise him as the party’s candidate for the election.

A Chief Programme Analyst in INEC’s ICT Department, Mustapha Mohammed, who deposed to the affidavit on behalf of the commission, said a search of the submitted membership register did not produce Adebutu’s name.

According to him, the commission searched for different variations of the former Ogun State governorship candidate’s name but could not find any matching record.

He, however, disclosed that the name of Adebutu’s running mate, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi, appeared in the register.

“The ICT department found the name of the first plaintiff’s candidate fielded as Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi, in the register but could not find the name of the second plaintiff,” Mohammed stated.

INEC Disputes Adebutu’s Membership Number

The electoral commission also challenged Adebutu’s claim that his PDP membership registration number was 1536.

Mohammed told the court that INEC’s records showed that the membership number belonged to another individual identified as Lugboso Sunday Seun.

He further alleged that neither of the two flash drives submitted alongside the PDP’s hard-copy membership register contained Adebutu’s details.

The INEC official also claimed that the flash drive attached by the PDP to its court affidavit contained records different from those previously submitted to the commission.

INEC consequently maintained that it acted diligently by examining the documents and electronic records provided by the party before publishing the final list of candidates.

Court Fixes Friday for Judgment

Following the adoption of final written addresses by the parties, Justice Peter Lifu fixed Friday for judgment in the suit.

The case centres on whether INEC should recognise Adebutu as the PDP governorship candidate for the February 6, 2027 election.

The commission had earlier published a list containing 13 governorship candidates for the Ogun State poll, without Adebutu’s name.

Labour Party Chieftain Accuses Adebutu of Perjury

Reacting to INEC’s position, Labour Party chieftain Abayomi Arabambi accused Adebutu of perjury over his claim that membership registration number 1536 belonged to him.

Arabambi called on the Attorney-General of the Federation to investigate the allegation.

He also urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to examine what he described as alleged attempts to influence the outcome of the proceedings.

Adebutu had previously told his supporters that he obtained membership registration number 1536 during the PDP membership registration exercise, maintaining that the number demonstrated his continued membership of the party.

The court’s decision on Friday is expected to determine the immediate legal direction of the dispute over the PDP’s representation in the forthcoming Ogun State governorship election.