The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore Oladipupo Adebutu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Ogun State in the 2027 election.
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Justice Peter Lifu issued the order on Friday while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the PDP and Adebutu against the electoral commission.
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The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2573/2026, was instituted on October 22 after INEC left Adebutu’s name out of its final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship election in Ogun State.
The plaintiffs had asked the court to overturn the commission’s decision to exclude Adebutu from the list published on October 10. They argued that the omission breached his right to fair hearing and violated Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
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They also sought an order directing INEC to publish Adebutu’s name as the PDP candidate within 24 hours.
However, INEC opposed the suit, maintaining that Adebutu’s name was absent from the membership register submitted to the commission by the PDP.
In its counter-affidavit, the commission, through its Chief Programme Analyst in the Information and Communication Technology Department, Mustapha Mohammed, said its records contained the name of only the party’s deputy governorship candidate, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi.
INEC also disputed Adebutu’s claim that he held membership serial number 1536, stating that the number was registered to another individual, identified as Lugboso Sunday Seun.
After hearing arguments from both parties and considering their final written addresses, Justice Lifu ruled in favour of the PDP and Adebutu, ordering the electoral commission to restore his name as the party’s governorship candidate.
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