By Kazeem Waris
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of Oladipupo Adebutu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the February 6, 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
The court, in a judgment delivered on Friday by Justice Peter Lifu, directed INEC to comply with the order within 24 hours, holding that the commission lacked the power to unilaterally remove a candidate validly nominated by a political party.
It consequently declared INEC’s failure to include Adebutu’s name in the final list of candidates for the election unconstitutional and unlawful.
The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2573/2026, instituted by the PDP and Adebutu against INEC.
The PDP was listed as the first plaintiff, Adebutu as the second plaintiff, while INEC was the sole defendant.
INEC had earlier omitted Adebutu’s name from the final list of 13 candidates cleared to contest the Ogun governorship election.
