The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reinstate the name of Oladipupo Adebutu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2027 election in Ogun State.
The judgment was delivered on Friday by Justice Peter Lifu, who ruled that INEC had no power to remove a candidate sponsored by a political party without a court order.
The ruling followed a suit instituted by the PDP and Adebutu against INEC over the commission’s decision to exclude his name from the final list of candidates cleared to participate in the forthcoming governorship election.
Adebutu’s name was missing from the final list of 13 governorship candidates published by INEC on October 10, 2026.
Dissatisfied with the decision, the PDP and Adebutu approached the court on October 22, seeking an order compelling the electoral commission to recognise him as the party’s candidate for the February 6, 2027 governorship election.
The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, argued that INEC’s decision to exclude Adebutu violated his right to fair hearing and provisions of Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
They asked the court to set aside the commission’s decision and direct it to publish Adebutu’s name as the PDP governorship candidate.
However, INEC opposed the suit, maintaining that Adebutu’s name was missing from the membership register submitted to the commission by the PDP.
In a counter-affidavit, Mustapha Mohammed, a Chief Programme Analyst in INEC’s Information and Communication Technology Department, told the court that a search of the register produced the name of the party’s deputy governorship candidate, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi, but did not show Adebutu’s name.
The commission also disputed the documents presented by the PDP, insisting that the flash drives submitted by the party did not contain Adebutu’s name or personal details.
During the proceedings on November 5, the PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, testified that Adebutu’s name was included in the flash drive containing the party’s list of candidates submitted to INEC.
He also disputed the colour of the flash drive presented by the commission, insisting that the device submitted by the PDP was silver.
INEC’s witness, however, maintained that the documents submitted to the commission did not contain Adebutu’s name.
After considering the arguments and evidence presented by both parties, Justice Lifu delivered judgment in favour of the plaintiffs and ordered INEC to restore Adebutu’s name to the list of candidates.
The judgment represents a significant development for the PDP as political parties prepare for the 2027 governorship election in Ogun State.
The commission is expected to comply with the court’s directive by publishing Adebutu’s name as the party’s governorship candidate.
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