Lawyers representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election, Topa Olusegun Peter, have petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the omission of his name from the final list of candidates.
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In a letter dated October 14 and addressed to INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, the legal team led by Anderson Asemota said the commission omitted Peter’s name from the list published on October 10, despite the party having submitted his nomination details in line with Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
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The lawyers warned that the omission had immediate consequences for their client and demanded that INEC review the matter within 48 hours. They also threatened to institute legal proceedings if the commission failed to provide a substantive response or correct the list.
According to the petition, Peter participated in the PDP governorship primary, after which the party submitted his nomination particulars to INEC. The lawyers also claimed that his name appeared as entry number 15,783 on the PDP membership register submitted to the commission.
They argued that the final list published on October 10 did not contain any candidate for the PDP in Ogun State, leaving Peter’s nomination unclear to the public, party members, supporters and voters.
The legal team further stated that their client had not received written reasons for the omission or been notified of any objection that could have allowed him to respond to the commission’s concerns.
The lawyers urged INEC to verify Peter’s membership-register entry and examine the relevant primary-election and nomination records in its custody.
They also cited Sections 77(4) to 77(6) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which they said regulate the submission and use of political party membership registers.
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The petition acknowledged the Supreme Court’s decision in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, SC/CV/495/2026, delivered on September 24, 2026, concerning provisions of the Electoral Act on membership registers and party nominations.
The lawyers maintained that they were not asking INEC to disregard the judgment but to apply the court’s interpretation to the facts and records relating to Peter and the PDP. They urged the commission to determine whether the relevant statutory requirements had been met and whether any court order or other lawful basis justified excluding their client.
They also referred to previous Supreme Court decisions in Ugwu v. Ararume and Amaechi v. INEC, arguing that lawful party nomination processes must be respected and electoral authorities must operate within the law.
The legal team requested that, if INEC’s records confirmed Peter’s valid nomination and no lawful grounds existed for his exclusion, the commission should issue an amended or supplementary candidate list containing his name and publish the correction on its website.
They further demanded written confirmation of the outcome of the review within 48 hours of the petition’s receipt.
The lawyers said their client reserved the right to seek court orders and other available remedies, including costs, if INEC failed to respond within the stipulated period or left the omission unresolved without a lawful explanation.
They stressed that the petition did not seek to make the commission assume the role of a court, but called on it to review its records and carry out its statutory responsibilities in accordance with the law.
The 2027 Ogun State governorship election is scheduled for February 6.
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