The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered INEC to restore Ladi Adebutu’s name to the PDP candidates’ list for the 2027 Ogun governorship election
Court Orders INEC to Reinstate Ladi Adebutu for Ogun 2027 Election
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore the name of Oladipupo Adebutu, popularly known as Ladi Adebutu, to the list of candidates for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
The court, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, gave the ruling on Friday, November 13, 2026, declaring that INEC acted beyond its constitutional and statutory powers by excluding Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, from the final list of governorship contenders.
Justice Lifu held that the electoral commission could not independently disqualify a candidate duly nominated by a political party without following the legal process and granting the affected candidate an opportunity to defend himself.
The judge consequently declared Adebutu’s exclusion unlawful, unconstitutional and of no effect, directing INEC to restore his name to the candidates’ list.
Emphasising the limits of the commission’s powers, Justice Lifu said the authority to disqualify a candidate after a political party had submitted his name rested with the courts rather than INEC.
He stated that the authority to disqualify a candidate after his name had been forwarded by a political party “resides with the Federal High Court or State High Court.”
The ruling followed a suit instituted by Adebutu and the PDP against INEC after the commission published its final list of candidates on October 10, 2026, without including the former Ogun governorship candidate.
Before determining the substantive issues, Justice Lifu dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit.
The commission had questioned the validity of the originating summons filed by the plaintiffs. However, the judge ruled that the process was properly signed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and contained the names of other lawyers in his law firm, thereby establishing its competence.
The court subsequently considered whether INEC violated Adebutu’s right to fair hearing, whether the commission possessed the legal authority to disqualify him independently and whether it could lawfully remove his name from the list of candidates submitted for the election.
In presenting their case, Adebutu and the PDP told the court that the former had contested the Ogun governorship election in 2019 and emerged as the party’s candidate for the 2023 election.
Adebutu further explained that he participated in the PDP governorship primary for the 2027 election and emerged as the party’s nominee on May 24, 2026.
The plaintiffs maintained that the party subsequently submitted and published his name on August 29 without any objection from the electoral commission.
However, they said Adebutu discovered that his name was missing when INEC released its final list of governorship candidates in October.
The PDP and its National Secretary subsequently wrote to INEC on October 14, requesting that the omission be corrected, but the commission allegedly failed to act on their demand.
INEC had, however, defended its decision in court, arguing that Adebutu’s name was missing from the register of party members earlier submitted by the PDP. The commission also questioned his claimed membership serial number, maintaining that its records identified another individual as the holder.
Justice Lifu also questioned why INEC waited several months after the party’s primary election before raising concerns about Adebutu’s eligibility.
The judge noted that the commission failed to challenge the conduct of the primary within the period prescribed by law, expressing concern over its decision to raise the issue much later.
Expressing his displeasure over the timing, he said: “As far as I know, no person filed any suit to challenge Adebutu 14 days after the conduct of the poll. It was baffling that INEC waited until August.”
The judge warned that allowing INEC to exercise powers beyond those expressly conferred on it by law could create a dangerous precedent capable of undermining the electoral process.
He said, “If this is not resolved, there will be a day that INEC will disqualify a candidate a day to election. This must not be allowed. This would be an absurdity.”
Addressing the commission’s authority to remove a candidate from an already published list, Justice Lifu maintained that INEC could not unilaterally disqualify candidates nominated by political parties.
“INEC does not have the power to remove names or disqualify any candidate on its own. The power to disqualify a candidate after the name has been forwarded resides with the FHC or State high Court.”
He further emphasised the constitutional and statutory role of political parties in selecting candidates for elections, stressing that the nomination process remained within the exclusive authority of the parties, subject to the law.
“The power to nominate a candidate for an election exclusively belongs to a political party, and the exercise of that power is within a party,” he said.
