2027 Elections: Court Directs INEC to Reinstate Adebutu as Ogun PDP Governorship Candidate

The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish Oladipupo Adebutu’s name as the PDP candidate for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election within 24 hours.

Justice Peter Lifu gave the order on Friday while delivering judgment in a suit challenging the commission’s decision to exclude Adebutu from the list of governorship candidates.

The court held that INEC had no constitutional or legal authority to unilaterally remove the name of a candidate validly nominated by a political party.

According to the judge, the commission’s decision was unconstitutional, unlawful and of no effect.

Justice Lifu explained that the power to declare a candidate invalid rests exclusively with the Federal High Court or the relevant state high court, not INEC.

He also ruled that the commission breached Adebutu’s right to fair hearing by removing his name from the candidates’ list.

The judge equally rejected INEC’s preliminary objection and affirmed that the suit was competent.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the PDP and Adebutu filed the case on October 22 after the commission excluded the former from its list of contestants for the Ogun governorship election.

INEC was named as the sole defendant in the suit instituted by the plaintiffs through their lawyer, Ahmed Raji, SAN.

The plaintiffs had asked the court to determine six issues and grant 11 reliefs.

They specifically sought to overturn INEC’s decision to omit, remove or refuse to publish Adebutu’s name in the final list of candidates released on October 10.

They argued that the decision violated his right to fair hearing and contravened Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026.

They further requested an order compelling INEC to publish Adebutu’s name as the PDP’s governorship candidate for Ogun State in the 2027 general election within 24 hours.

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