Oladipupo Adebutu: 2027 Ogun INEC Exclusion Confirmed Amid PDP Crisis

• Oladipupo Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party's Ogun State governorship candidate, has been excluded from the Independent National Electoral Commission's candidate list for the 2027 election.
• INEC cited the PDP's failure to submit its membership register prior to conducting valid primaries as the reason for the exclusion.
• This development jeopardizes Adebutu's 2027 governorship ambition, despite his insistence on being a duly registered party member.
• The exclusion is linked to an ongoing leadership dispute within the national Peoples Democratic Party, which led to parallel membership registration exercises.
• Adebutu's name was reportedly absent from the digital membership register submitted by the INEC-recognized faction of the party.

This Oladipupo Adebutu 2027 Ogun INEC exclusion represents a major setback for his political future.

The political aspirations of Oladipupo Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) governorship candidate for Ogun State, have encountered a significant hurdle following his exclusion from the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) official list of candidates. This development places his bid for the February 6, 2027, election in considerable jeopardy. Adebutu, who previously secured 262,383 votes in the March 18, 2023, governorship election, finds himself in an uncomfortable position, with his running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, also omitted from the crucial list.

INEC, through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, clarified that the PDP failed to meet a critical requirement. The commission stated that the party did not submit its membership register before conducting its primaries, a necessary step for validating candidates. Despite Adebutu's insistence that he was properly registered as a PDP member and qualified to contest, and a subsequent petition from the party regarding his omission, INEC did not include his name on the final list after the 14-day window for such appeals had closed. This Oladipupo Adebutu 2027 Ogun INEC exclusion represents a major setback for his political future.

The genesis of Adebutu's current predicament can be traced to a protracted leadership crisis plaguing the national Peoples Democratic Party. The party remains deeply divided into two competing factions. One faction, recognized by INEC, is led by Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman and reportedly enjoys the backing of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. The other faction, which also asserts its claim to the party's national leadership, is led by Kabiru Turaki as its National Chairman, a former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Both of these rival factions conducted separate membership registration exercises within the stipulated timeframe, creating a complex situation regarding legitimate party membership. Adebutu's association with the Turaki-led faction is identified as the primary issue contributing to the controversy surrounding his exclusion. An anonymous official within the Ogun PDP confirmed that Adebutu had registered with the faction whose activities were not accepted by INEC. Furthermore, the official revealed that Adebutu's name was conspicuously absent from the digital membership register that the Mohammed-led executive submitted to the commission 21 days before the party's primary election in the state.

This is not the first instance where Oladipupo Adebutu's governorship ambition has been threatened by internal party strife and regulatory non-compliance. A similar challenge arose ahead of the 2019 governorship election, when a leadership crisis within the PDP resulted in the emergence of two distinct factions, each presenting its own candidate. During that period, two separate governorship primaries were conducted by the opposing party groups.

Adebutu had emerged as a candidate from the primary organized by the National Working Committee, then led by Uche Secondus. In contrast, the late Senator Buruji Kashamu was the outcome of a parallel exercise conducted by the Adebayo Dayo-led state executive faction. Ultimately, Adebutu lost the party's ticket after a Federal High Court issued a directive compelling INEC to recognize Kashamu as the legitimate candidate. Eight years later, another internal disagreement within the Peoples Democratic Party leadership dispute has once again placed his aspirations for the Ogun State governorship in jeopardy, highlighting a persistent pattern of intra-party conflict affecting candidate eligibility.

This development underscores the critical importance for political parties and aspirants in Nigeria to ensure strict compliance with electoral regulations, particularly regarding the submission of valid membership registers to INEC. Lawyers advising political clients must conduct thorough due diligence on internal party processes and candidate eligibility to mitigate the risk of disqualification due to factional disputes or procedural non-compliance.

Source: Original reporting via Sunday PUNCH