The Federal High Court, Abuja Division, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately restore and publish the name of Hon. Ladi Adebutu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Ogun State in the 2027 general election.
Justice Peter Lifu, in a judgment delivered on Friday, held that INEC acted unlawfully by removing Adebutu’s name from the list of candidates without first obtaining a court order.
The court resolved all four major issues in favour of Adebutu, rejecting INEC’s arguments that his candidacy was affected by an earlier Supreme Court judgment or by issues surrounding the PDP membership register.
The court held that Adebutu was not a party to the Supreme Court case relied upon by INEC and, consequently, could not be bound by its outcome.
On INEC’s power to remove candidates, the court ruled that the electoral commission cannot unilaterally delete or remove a candidate sponsored by a political party without approaching a court of competent jurisdiction.
The court also questioned INEC’s decision to raise the issue of Adebutu’s name several months after the relevant processes had been concluded, describing the delay as “absurdity.”
On the PDP membership register, the court noted that INEC had monitored the party’s governorship primary and subsequently published Adebutu’s name among its provisional list of candidates.
It further held that the PDP had sufficiently established Adebutu’s membership of the party in Ogun State, while INEC failed to provide convincing evidence that the electronic copy of the register submitted by the PDP had been altered.
Consequently, Justice Lifu ordered INEC to restore and publish Adebutu’s name within 24 hours, effectively reinstating him as the PDP’s candidate for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
The ruling is expected to have significant political implications in Ogun State as preparations for the 2027 elections gather momentum.