Ogun 2027: Adebutu’s PDP Candidacy Faces Fresh Legal Challenge Over Membership Register
Reloaded News Desk
The 2027 Ogun State governorship candidacy of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) flag bearer, Ladi Adebutu, has come under fresh legal scrutiny following a claim by the Ogun Democratic Accountability Forum (ODAF) that his name is missing from the party’s membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
ODAF said it obtained what it described as a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the PDP membership register from INEC and that Adebutu’s name does not appear on the document.
The group said the document was obtained after payment of the prescribed certification fee and argued that the alleged omission raises questions about Adebutu’s eligibility to participate in the PDP’s nomination process.
The issue has assumed renewed significance following the Supreme Court’s judgment of September 24, 2026, which restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026. The apex court set aside the Court of Appeal judgment that had earlier invalidated the provisions.
Section 77(5) provides that only persons whose names appear in a political party’s membership register submitted to INEC are eligible to vote or be voted for at the party’s primaries, congresses or conventions, while Section 77(6) restricts parties from using a different register for those exercises.
The legal significance of the provision, however, does not by itself establish that Adebutu is disqualified. The crucial factual question is whether the CTC relied upon by ODAF is indeed the PDP register submitted to INEC for the relevant nomination process and whether Adebutu’s name is absent from that official document.
INEC had earlier moved the deadline for submission of party membership registers from April 21 to May 10, 2026, after consultations with political parties. The Commission subsequently announced that all 22 registered political parties had submitted their registers by May 8.
Adebutu subsequently emerged as the PDP’s 2027 Ogun governorship candidate at the party’s May 2026 nomination exercise. Reports at the time said he was affirmed across the state’s 236 wards and formally declared the party’s candidate.
ODAF’s challenge also raises questions about the internal PDP crisis that preceded the nomination exercise.
On April 30, 2026, the Supreme Court nullified the PDP national convention held in Ibadan in November 2025, which had produced the Tanimu Turaki-led factional leadership. The apex court upheld decisions voiding the convention because it had proceeded despite subsisting court orders.
ODAF contends that Adebutu participated in a congress associated with the Turaki faction before subsequently aligning with the recognised PDP structure and that this history has implications for his membership status.
That argument, however, remains a claim by the group and would require determination by the appropriate court or electoral authorities.
The group has also questioned payments allegedly made in connection with Adebutu’s nomination through accounts belonging to Cowries Craft Enterprises rather than an account bearing the PDP’s name.
Those payment claims could not be independently verified by Reloaded News from publicly accessible records and should therefore be treated as allegations pending documentary confirmation.
ODAF has consequently called on INEC to preserve the membership register already submitted by the PDP and ensure that no subsequent alteration is made to the document.
The group argues that any retrospective insertion of a candidate’s name into the submitted register would undermine the purpose of Sections 77(5) and 77(6) of the Electoral Act.
The immediate legal question, therefore, is not simply whether Adebutu’s name appears on a document presented by ODAF.
It is whether the document is the authentic PDP register submitted to INEC within the statutory framework, whether his name was contained in that register at the material time, and what legal consequences, if any, flow from its alleged absence.
Adebutu and the PDP would have an opportunity to respond to the allegation, while INEC remains the institution holding the official register.
Until those questions are resolved by documentary evidence or a competent judicial determination, the claim that Adebutu is already disqualified should not be presented as an established fact.
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