The Ladi Adebutu Campaign Organisation yesterday insisted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State would be on the ballot in the February 6 2027 election despite reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected his petition to be included in the list of contestants.
Afolabi Orekoya Head of Public Communications of the Organisation said in Abeokuta that the PDP was still awaiting an official statement from INEC on the petition.
He asked the public to disregard reports that Adebutu’s petition has failed.
Orekoya told The Nation that Adebutu would be on the ballot as the party followed due process picking Adebutu as its flag bearer.
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of political victimisation.
His words: It is so clear that this is political victimisation.
‘ APC is trying to kill democracy in the country. They are desperate because they don’t want any contest. ‘They know that they don’t have a sellable gubernatorial candidate; that is why they want a one-party system in 2027.
‘We want to assure our supporters that our candidate will be on the ballot in 2027. We followed due process before the emergence of our governorship candidate and we never did anything contrary to the law as stipulated by INEC.
The commission on Thursday issued an update on its review of 130 petitions submitted by political parties over alleged irregularities in the nomination process.
Of the number 66 were favourably considered while the remaining 64 were knocked out.
Subsequently 66 candidates received the nod to contest the election.
Among those restored to the lists are former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Prof. Isa Ali Pantami the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Gombe State; and Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in Kano State.
However the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State Ladi Adebutu remains excluded after INEC rejected his petition challenging his omission.
Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) Mohammed Kudu Haruna said the commission received 69 petitions from 12 political parties across 26 states on the governorship race. Of these 41 were successful while 28 were rejected.
For the State Houses of Assembly elections INEC received 61 petitions from 11 political parties across 11 states. Twenty-five of the petitions were successful while 36 were unsuccessful.
The complaints centred on the omission of certain political parties the wrongful inclusion of candidates whose names were not in the membership registers submitted by their parties and alleged multiple nominations.
Haruna said the commission reviewed the complaints alongside relevant records and applicable legal provisions before reaching its decisions.
He explained that some representations were found to have merit resulting in the approval of the affected candidates and political parties while those considered to be without merit were rejected.
The commission also said that some candidates whose names had appeared in the original lists were removed after verification showed that they were not included in the membership registers submitted by their political parties.
It further approved the removal of candidates whose nominations did not meet the applicable legal requirements.
A comparison of the October 10 and October 30 governorship lists shows that Pantami has now been included as the PDP candidate in Gombe State while Gwarzo has been added as the NDC candidate in Kano State.
Gwarzo’s exclusion from the original list had prompted the NDC and the candidate to approach the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order compelling INEC to restore his name and that of his running mate Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso to the list.
However INEC subsequently approved the petition concerning his exclusion and included him in the updated list.
Adebutu on the other hand remains absent from the Ogun State list after his petition was rejected. Reports indicated that his name was not included in the list of candidates originally submitted to INEC by the PDP.
The commission said the affected candidates political parties and states were reflected in the updated lists published on its website.
The latest development follows an earlier clarification by INEC on October 13 in which it explained its decision to exclude some candidates from the original lists.
The commission had cited the Supreme Court judgment of September 24 2026 on the mandatory submission of political parties’ membership registers under the Electoral Act 2026.
The judgment affirmed the constitutionality of the relevant provisions requiring political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC a requirement the commission said it was bound to enforce.
INEC reiterated its commitment to transparency and the credibility of the electoral process.