By Kazeem Waris
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has remained silent following a Federal High Court judgment directing it to restore the name of Oladipupo Adebutu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election within 24 hours.
The commission’s silence came after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ruled on Friday that INEC lacked the constitutional powers to unilaterally remove the name of a validly nominated candidate submitted by a political party.
The judge declared the commission’s action unconstitutional, unlawful and of no effect, ordering it to publish Adebutu’s name as the PDP governorship candidate within the stipulated period.
However, INEC was yet to issue an official response to the judgment as of the time of filing this report.
The Director of Voter Education and Publicity at the commission, Mrs Victoria Messi-Eta, said she had only read about the judgment in the media and would obtain an official position from INEC’s legal department.
She had yet to provide further clarification as of press time.
Similarly, the National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Malam Mohammed Haruna, neither returned calls nor responded to messages seeking the commission’s reaction.
In his judgment, Justice Lifu held that INEC could not assume the judicial powers of determining the validity or otherwise of a candidate duly nominated by a political party.
He maintained that only a competent court, including the Federal High Court or a state high court, could invalidate a candidate’s nomination.
The judge also held that the commission violated Adebutu’s constitutional right to fair hearing by removing his name without affording him the opportunity to be heard.
He consequently dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection, declaring the suit competent and paving the way for the substantive reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.
The PDP and Adebutu had approached the court on October 22 following the omission of his name from the final list of contestants for the Ogun governorship election published by INEC on October 10.
The commission was the sole defendant in the suit.
The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Ahmed Raji, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), sought 11 reliefs, including an order setting aside INEC’s decision to omit, remove or refuse to publish Adebutu’s name as the party’s governorship candidate.
They argued that the commission’s action violated their right to fair hearing and contravened Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Among the reliefs sought was an order compelling INEC to restore Adebutu’s name within 24 hours of the court’s decision.
Specifically, the plaintiffs asked the court to compel “the defendant to, within twenty-four (24) hours of the order/orders of this honourable court, include and/or publish the name of the 2nd plaintiff as the 1st plaintiff’s governorship candidate for Ogun State in the forthcoming 2027 General Election.”
The ruling represents a significant development in the PDP’s preparations for the 2027 Ogun governorship election, with the commission now expected to comply with the court’s directive.
INEC’s official response and confirmation of compliance with the judgment were still being awaited at the time of filing this report.
