The Federal High Court has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reinstate Ladi Adebutu as the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State within 24 hours, ruling that the commission lacked the power to remove him from the list on its own.
It held that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot remove a validly nominated candidate from its list without first going to court. The ruling returns Ladi Adebutu to the Ogun State governorship ballot as the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Peter Lifu found that INEC dropped Adebutu without letting him respond to its concerns, a breach of his right to fair hearing. The court called the exclusion unlawful, unconstitutional and of no effect, and gave the commission 24 hours to amend the candidates’ list it published on October 10, 2026.
The dispute began when Adebutu’s name did not appear among the candidates for the 2027 governorship election. The PDP and Adebutu sued, saying he won the party’s primary and was on the membership register the party sent to INEC. INEC countered that its own review of the register did not find his name.
That defence did not hold up in court. The judge observed that INEC’s witness never personally received the flash drive containing the party’s submission and so could not say what the PDP actually sent. The party’s account of the submission stood unchallenged. The court also rejected INEC’s preliminary objection, finding the PDP’s originating summons properly signed and competent.
The judge added a warning about the election itself. INEC may not announce the result of the 2027 Ogun governorship poll without the plaintiffs’ participation, and any election held without them would be unconstitutional and of no effect.