The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to publish Oladipupo Adebutu’s name as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election within 24 hours.
Justice Peter Lifu, who delivered the judgment on Friday, ruled that INEC lacked the constitutional authority to unilaterally remove or exclude a validly nominated candidate of a political party from an election.
The court described the commission’s decision to omit Adebutu’s name from the list of governorship candidates as unconstitutional, unlawful and of no effect.
Justice Lifu held that the power to determine the validity of a candidate’s nomination rests with a court of competent jurisdiction, specifically the Federal High Court or a state high court, and not INEC.
He also ruled that the electoral commission violated Adebutu’s right to fair hearing by excluding his name without giving him an opportunity to respond to the issues surrounding his nomination.
The judge dismissed the preliminary objection filed by INEC, declaring that the suit instituted by the PDP and Adebutu was competent and properly before the court.
The judgment followed a legal dispute over Adebutu’s exclusion from INEC’s final list of candidates for the Ogun governorship election, published on October 10, 2026.
The PDP and Adebutu had approached the court on October 22, seeking to overturn the commission’s decision and compel it to recognise him as the party’s flagbearer for the 2027 election.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2573/2026, named INEC as the sole defendant, with the plaintiffs represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ahmed Raji.
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The plaintiffs raised six questions for determination and sought 11 reliefs, including an order setting aside INEC’s decision to omit, remove or refuse to publish Adebutu’s name in the final list of governorship candidates.
They argued that the commission’s action violated his right to fair hearing and breached Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The plaintiffs also asked the court to direct INEC to include and publish Adebutu’s name as the PDP governorship candidate for Ogun State within 24 hours of its judgment.
However, INEC had defended its decision to exclude Adebutu, maintaining that his name was missing from the membership register submitted to the commission by the PDP.
In a counter-affidavit filed before the court, Mustapha Mohammed, a Chief Programme Analyst in INEC’s Information and Communication Technology Department, said the commission could not find Adebutu’s name in the register despite conducting searches.
According to INEC, the search identified the name of the party’s deputy governorship candidate, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi, but did not produce Adebutu’s details. The commission also maintained that it conducted due diligence before publishing the final list of candidates.
The PDP, however, disputed INEC’s position. During the proceedings, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, told the court that Adebutu’s name was included in the list of candidates submitted to the commission through a flash drive.
Bature also maintained that the party complied with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC’s 2026 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
Both parties presented witnesses and adopted their final written addresses before Justice Lifu fixed November 13 for judgment.
Adebutu’s inclusion in the list is significant to the PDP’s participation in the 2027 Ogun governorship election, particularly after the party was left without a governorship candidate in INEC’s final list published in October.
With Friday’s judgment, INEC is now required to comply with the court’s directive by publishing Adebutu’s name within 24 hours.
NAN
