OGUN 2026: Matter Arising, New Challenge for PDP
The dispute over who represents the PDP in the 2026 Ogun State governorship election has taken another turn, with fresh allegations of perjury and an alleged plot to influence the judiciary.
Addressing journalists, Labour Party South-West National Vice Chairman, Comrade Arabambi Abayomi, revisited the controversy surrounding the party’s membership register and the exclusion of Ladi Adebutu from INEC’s final list of governorship candidates.
He said the electoral commission excluded Adebutu and his running mate after determining that the PDP had failed to meet the statutory requirement for submitting its membership register ahead of the party primary.
Abayomi cited Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, particularly its provisions requiring political parties to submit their digital membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before primaries.
He also referenced the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026 judgment in the case of INEC versus Zenith Labour Party, which he said affirmed the constitutionality and mandatory nature of the relevant provisions.
“The general public is aware of the recent decision of the Supreme Court in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026 delivered on 24th September, 2026. The decision arose from INEC’s appeal against the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 requiring the submission of membership registers as a prerequisite for the conduct of valid party primaries.
However, the Supreme Court, in the aforementioned judgement, held that the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 are constitutional and mandatory for all political parties. In particular, the Court upheld the constitutionality of Item No. 2 of INEC’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities, which mandated political parties to submit their membership registers between 21st April and 10th May, 2026.
“Furthermore, the Court held that failure to comply with the provisions of Section 77 (5)-(7), renders the defaulting political parties ineligible to sponsor any candidate for the election.”
In accordance with Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Commission, while finalizing the list of candidates for the Governorship election applied the above decision of the Supreme Court and excluded political parties that failed to comply with Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, in relation to fielding of candidates.”
The Labour Party chieftain alleged that documents submitted by Adebutu in his Federal High Court case did not correspond with the membership records originally received by INEC.
According to him, the flash drive tendered by Adebutu contained PDF files with serial numbers covering more than 33,000 members, while the records submitted to INEC in April ended at 19,308.
He further claimed that the membership serial number allegedly cited for Adebutu in his court affidavit belonged to another individual, identified as Lugboso Sunday Seun.
Abayomi said INEC’s searches of the authentic register also failed to establish Adebutu’s membership, describing the discrepancies as grounds for investigating possible false deposition under oath.
Beyond the membership-register dispute, Abayomi alleged that his camp had received intelligence pointing to an attempt to influence proceedings before the Federal High Court, Court 10, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu.
He claimed that correspondence circulating within the opposing camp suggested that a senior advocate had been engaged to secure a favourable outcome and that arrangements had allegedly been made to influence some officials.
The allegations also include claims of payments to political figures and efforts to compromise certain officials within INEC.
Abayomi, however, did not present the allegations as established findings, but urged the relevant authorities to investigate them and safeguard the integrity of the proceedings.
He called on the Attorney General of the Federation to investigate the alleged false statements in the court affidavit and the claims of an attempt to pervert the course of justice.
He also urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to take appropriate steps to protect the judicial process.
For the Labour Party chieftain, the controversy goes beyond the political contest in Ogun State, raising broader questions about electoral compliance, the credibility of court processes and public confidence in the judiciary.
