BREAKING: Group Questions Adebutu’s Name in PDP Membership Register
ABEOKUTA — Fresh questions have emerged over the membership record of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Hon. Ladi Adebutu.
Elections Integrity Watch, a civic group, claims that a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the PDP membership register obtained from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not contain Adebutu’s name.
The group is now asking INEC to clarify the documentary basis for Adebutu’s emergence as the PDP governorship candidate and whether any subsequent membership register containing his name was submitted to and accepted by the Commission.
Chairman of Elections Integrity Watch, Comrade Akinlolu Anifowose, said the issue had become important following the Supreme Court’s recent decision concerning statutory provisions on political party membership registers and their use in internal party elections.
«“If the Certified True Copy issued by the Commission does not contain Hon. Ladi Adebutu’s name, on what record is he now being presented as the PDP governorship candidate?” Anifowose asked.»
He stressed that the group was not accusing INEC of altering its records but was seeking clarification based on the documents allegedly in its possession.
“We are not alleging that INEC altered any record. We are asking the Commission to establish the facts,” he said.
According to him, if another document containing Adebutu’s name exists, INEC should disclose when it was submitted, who submitted it, the legal basis for its acceptance and whether it complied with the applicable statutory requirements.
The group also called for the preservation of relevant physical and electronic records, including membership registers, nomination documents, submission timestamps and available audit trails, to enable the chronology of the records to be independently established.
Elections Integrity Watch said its intervention was aimed at ensuring that questions surrounding the Ogun PDP governorship nomination are resolved on the basis of verifiable records and applicable law.
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