Adebutu, Pantami missing as INEC releases final governorship list

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has excluded the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and his running mate from its final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 election.

The commission’s list, published on Saturday, October 10, contains 13 governorship candidates for Ogun State, but Adebutu and his deputy are absent.

INEC had not provided a confirmed explanation for their omission as of the time of reporting.

The development comes amid controversy over Adebutu’s eligibility following allegations by civil society groups that his name was missing from the PDP membership register submitted to INEC.

The Ogun State chapter of the PDP had rejected the allegations, insisting that Adebutu was a duly registered member of the party and that it complied with statutory requirements for candidate nomination.

Meanwhile, the PDP’s governorship candidate in Gombe State, former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ali Pantami, has faced a separate legal challenge over his emergence as the party’s flagbearer.

A Federal High Court in Gombe nullified Pantami’s initial emergence in September and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh primary.

He subsequently won the rerun election held on September 29.

The development in Ogun raises questions about the PDP’s participation in the state’s governorship election and whether the party will seek clarification or pursue any available legal remedy.