BREAKING: Court instructs INEC to publish Adebutu Oladipupo name as Ogun PDP governorship candidate

According to a report by Vanguard on 13 November, 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish Oladipupo Adebutu’s name as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election within 24 hours.

Justice Peter Lifu issued the order on Friday while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the PDP and Adebutu challenging the commission’s decision to exclude his name from the final list of governorship candidates.

In his ruling, Justice Lifu held that INEC lacked the legal authority to independently remove the name of a candidate validly nominated by a political party.

The judge described the commission’s action as unconstitutional, unlawful and without legal effect.

He further maintained that the power to determine the validity of a candidate rests with the Federal High Court or a state High Court, rather than INEC.

Justice Lifu also ruled that the electoral commission violated Adebutu’s right to fair hearing by removing his name without following the appropriate legal process.

The court dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection and declared that the suit was competent.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the PDP and Adebutu filed the action on October 22 following the removal of his name from the list of candidates for the Ogun governorship election.

The plaintiffs had approached the court through their lawyer, Ahmed Raji, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), with INEC listed as the sole defendant.

They presented six questions for determination and requested 11 reliefs, including an order setting aside the commission’s decision to omit or refuse to publish Adebutu’s name in the final candidates’ list released on October 10.

They argued that INEC’s decision breached his right to fair hearing and violated Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026.

The plaintiffs also sought an order compelling INEC to publish Adebutu’s name as the PDP governorship candidate within 24 hours of the court’s judgment.

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