INEC Tells Court Why It Excluded Adebutu From Ogun 2027 Governorship Candidates’ List
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that it excluded the Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Mr Ladi Adebutu, from the list of candidates cleared for the February 6, 2027 governorship election because his name was missing from the party’s membership register submitted to the commission.
INEC disclosed this in a counter-affidavit filed in opposition to a suit instituted by the PDP and Adebutu, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2573/2026, seeking an order compelling the commission to recognise Adebutu as the party’s governorship candidate.
In the counter-affidavit deposed to by Mustapha Mohammed, a Chief Programme Analyst in INEC’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department, the commission maintained that it conducted due diligence before publishing the final list of governorship candidates.
According to INEC, its search of the PDP membership register revealed only the name of the party’s deputy governorship candidate, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi, while Adebutu’s name and particulars were not found.
The commission further stated that additional searches conducted to identify a possible match for Adebutu’s name in the Ogun State membership register yielded no result.
INEC also told the court that the two flash drives submitted by the PDP alongside its hard-copy membership register did not contain Adebutu’s name.
The commission, however, raised questions about the flash drive attached to the plaintiffs’ affidavit and further affidavit in support of the originating summons, claiming that its contents differed from the materials earlier submitted to INEC.
It explained that the first flash drive submitted on April 22, 2026, contained files named Ogun 01-038, while the second contained files named Ogun 01-04, with membership serial numbers ranging from 1 to 18,973 and 1 to 19,308, respectively.
INEC’s witness further disclosed that serial number 1536, which Adebutu allegedly claimed as his membership identification number, belonged to one Lugboso Sunday Seun and not the PDP governorship candidate.
The commission maintained that neither of the flash drives nor the hard-copy register submitted by the PDP contained Adebutu’s name and particulars.
It would be recalled that INEC had omitted Adebutu’s name from the final list of 13 candidates cleared to contest the Ogun State governorship election scheduled for February 6, 2027, prompting the PDP and its candidate to approach the court.
Following the adoption of final written addresses by the parties, Justice Peter Lifu fixed Friday for judgment.
Meanwhile, a Labour Party chieftain, Arabambi Abayomi, has alleged an attempt to compromise the court and undermine the Supreme Court judgment relating to compliance with Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abayomi, in a statement made available to journalists, accused Adebutu of allegedly making false claims in an affidavit filed in support of his suit against INEC.
He specifically pointed to the disputed membership serial number 1536, insisting that INEC’s counter-affidavit established that the number belonged to Lugboso Sunday Seun and not Adebutu.
“For a litigant to approach the Federal High Court and swear to an affidavit containing demonstrably false particulars is perjury. It is an affront to the administration of justice,” Abayomi stated.
He urged the Attorney-General of the Federation to investigate the alleged perjury and called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to examine what he described as an alleged plot to influence the outcome of the case.
The court is expected to deliver its judgment on Friday.
