Adebutu’s exclusion: Where does Ogun PDP go from here?

As the 2027 Ogun governorship race gathers momentum, the PDP seeks legal intervention over INEC’s omission of Oladipupo Adebutu and his running mate from the candidates’ list, while the APC blames the opposition’s internal crisis for its predicament, writes BANKOLE TAIWO

The road to the 2027 governorship election in Ogun State is already becoming a test of political nerves, party loyalty and confidence in the electoral process, with the PDP confronting a hurdle: the omission of its governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, and his running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, from the list of candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The opposition party had waited with bated breath and confidence that its petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission over its refusal to include its governorship candidate and his running mate on the list of eligible candidates for the 2027 election, as earlier published on its website in October, would succeed.

But, in a subsequent statement signed by the Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, the electoral commission said it had upheld 66 petitions challenging the final lists of governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections and rejected 64 others.

Haruna said the commission reviewed the complaints, relevant records and applicable legal provisions before reaching its decisions.

INEC attributed the omissions to alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, requiring parties to submit their membership registers.

The commission said its position followed a September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment affirming the constitutionality of Section 77(5) to (7) of the Electoral Act, which makes the submission of membership registers mandatory.

However, the hope of the Ogun State chapter of the opposition party is becoming forlorn as its governorship candidate and his running mate are still missing from the list of 2027 governorship candidates for the state, as published by INEC on Friday, October 31.

For a party preparing to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress, the development has raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the omission, the handling of candidates’ particulars and the implications for the forthcoming election.

But rather than retreat into political uncertainty, the party leadership insists it is moving ahead with its preparations, even as it pursues legal redress to secure the inclusion of its governorship candidate and his running mate on the electoral list.

Speaking with our correspondent, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Kayode Adebayo, expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved in court.

Adebayo said, “The question is simple: why is it that, out of the list of 40 candidates that the party submitted to INEC, only the two highest-ranking candidates, that is, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu and his running mate, Alhaja Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, were omitted?

“It is surprising because all of these candidates went through the same nomination and submission procedures, so what exactly is the problem with Hon. Adebutu and our deputy governorship candidate? That’s a million-dollar question we sincerely hope we shall get an answer to from the judiciary.

“Journalists should ask probing questions. As the fourth estate of the realm, you should report the facts. If we submitted the exact same documents for 40 candidates across various offices and no other was removed except the governorship and deputy candidates, why?” he asked.

He maintained that the party submitted the required information and documentation within the stipulated period, adding that the PDP had responded to the development by approaching a Federal High Court to challenge INEC’s decision.

Beyond the legal challenge, the controversy has generated allegations of political interference, with the PDP accusing the ruling party of attempting to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 election.

Adebayo was particularly critical of the APC, alleging that the circumstances surrounding the omission reflected the ruling party’s unwillingness to face a competitive electoral contest.

He said the ruling party should allow the electorate to determine the outcome of the election rather than engage in actions that could undermine opposition participation.

“It has been a sad commentary for democracy in Nigeria since the APC took over the government. They claim to be progressives, but they are not. We are running a democracy without democrats,” he stated.

He further claimed that political interference was being used to destabilise opposition parties.

Asked whether he maintained that the APC was behind the development, Adebayo said he believed the ruling party was uncomfortable with the PDP’s political momentum.

He also alleged that the APC was concerned about the prospect of confronting Adebutu at the polls.

“They are afraid, they are losing the election, and they will lose,” he declared.

Similarly, Afolabi Orekoya, the Special Adviser on Media to Adebutu, said the party’s national leadership was engaging with INEC to establish the reason for the development, stressing that Adebutu’s name was included in the list submitted by the party.

“The party is taking every step and ensuring that the name of our candidate is registered. What we’ve basically been doing is liaising with the national body, which itself is relating with INEC on a daily basis,” he explained.

He said the party wanted a clear explanation from the electoral commission rather than what he described as vague accounts surrounding the omission.

“First and foremost, the party is asking what exactly is the reason for the omission, which has not been clearly mentioned. We’ve only been hearing different things about the candidates and the register. Let them tell us because the register that was submitted by the party had the name of our candidate in it,” he said.

According to Orekoya, the submission was made within the stipulated period, making the development particularly surprising to the party.

He also disclosed that Adebutu and the PDP had initiated legal proceedings to challenge what they considered an anomaly.

“If we have situations like this, we definitely have to do everything possible, as provided by the law, to ensure that our voice is heard and that our rights are not trampled upon,” he said.

The PDP’s position is that the same nomination and documentation procedures followed by other candidates were observed by Adebutu and his running mate.

Orekoya also dismissed suggestions that Adebutu’s omission resulted from any failure by the PDP candidate to complete the required nomination process.

He specifically rejected reports suggesting that Adebutu was advised by a party figure, Solarin, against registering through the party’s prescribed nomination process, adding, “All these are fabricated lies that are being spun around by the ruling party.”

He maintained that Adebutu had followed the same procedures as other candidates and remained committed to the PDP.

Orekoya, however, maintained that the morale of party members and their growing support remained very high, saying that the party had continued with its ward-to-ward mobilisation across the state’s 20 local government areas.

He said the party had already covered about 12 local governments and was preparing to visit three additional local governments as part of its political engagement programme.

“As you can see, we are going on with our activities, the normal activities. We have our calendar and our schedule. We are running our calendar; we have not altered anything,” he said.

He added that the party remained committed to reaching voters across the state, regardless of the uncertainty surrounding the publication of its governorship candidates.

“So far, so good, we have covered about 12 local governments. Our next plan is to tour all the wards in three more local governments,” he explained.

Orekoya called on INEC to address the controversy and ensure that the electoral process was conducted in accordance with the law.

“Our message to the people of Ogun State is for them to be calm and very hopeful that Honourable Ladi Adebutu and the PDP will be listed by INEC and will contest this election,” he said.

Orekoya also urged President Bola Tinubu to defend democratic principles and discourage any conduct capable of weakening opposition politics.

He recalled the President’s historical involvement in the struggle for democracy, arguing that the current political climate required a firm commitment to the principles of political competition and institutional independence.

“Our message to Mr President is that he should please try as much as possible to correct and also curb the shenanigans of the people in this ruling party. He fought very well. He fought very hard. He was one of those who fought to ensure that we have a stable democracy in Nigeria and therefore should never allow anyone to destroy our democracy,” Orekoya added.

Adebayo insisted that the PDP remained in high spirits because it believed it had complied with the relevant requirements.

“We are in high spirits because we know we followed due process. Everything was filed on time,” he said.

He added that the party and its candidates were pursuing the matter together, stressing that the legal action had the backing of the party’s national leadership.

The controversy has also attracted the intervention of Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, the PDP’s senatorial candidate for Ogun Central and a former senator who represented the district between 2007 and 2011.

Obasanjo described the circumstances surrounding Adebutu’s omission as troubling and questioned why he was treated differently from other PDP candidates.

“What is it that Honourable Ladi did differently from what we did? And when I asked that question, the answer was, he did the exact same thing that we all did,” she said.

“The next question is then why is his name not on the list?”

Obasanjo argued that the issue should not be viewed merely as a disagreement involving one candidate or one political party, but as a matter with wider implications for Nigeria’s democratic system.

She warned that allowing political interests to influence the participation of candidates in elections could establish a dangerous precedent.

“If this happens, then our democracy will crash because everybody that is a moneybag will go to Abuja and give the neutral institution money to remove anybody they think can beat them,” she said.

She added, “And so the idea is that, can one man’s desperation to be governor, can we allow it to kill our democracy?”

Obasanjo expressed confidence that Adebutu’s name would eventually be restored to the list, insisting that the PDP would not allow the controversy to weaken its preparations for the election.

She also dismissed suggestions that the development would undermine the party’s electoral prospects, arguing that the PDP’s previous record in government remained an important part of its appeal to voters.

Obasanjo maintained that the party could regain public confidence by reconnecting with voters and strengthening its political structures.

On the controversy, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Femi Nuberu, said the opposition party was only being naive with its allegations. He chided the PDP for blaming the APC for its failure to put its house in order.

Nuberu said the ruling party had nothing to do with INEC’s non-publication of the PDP governorship candidate and running mate for the state, maintaining that the party should rather blame its woes on its intractable crisis.

He said, “The PDP is advised to be retrospective on the antecedent and the management of their party. The consequences of poor party intra-crisis management usually announces the defeat of a political party before the actual date of election.

“As a party, we are more concerned with mobilisation of electorates with ITESIWAJU mantras than joining a drowned party in petty and illogical allegations.”