Adebutu, Pantami missing from INEC list as PDP’s 2027 governorship plans face uncertainty

The PDP’s 2027 governorship ambitions in Ogun and Gombe have been thrown into uncertainty after two of its prominent figures, Ladi Adebutu and Isa Ali Pantami, were conspicuously absent from INEC’s final lists, raising questions over their place in the party’s electoral plans.

Adebutu, the PDP’s candidate in the 2023 Ogun governorship election, and Pantami, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy who emerged as the party’s governorship candidate in Gombe, are both missing from the published lists.

Their absence raises questions about the status of the party’s nominations in the two states ahead of the 2027 elections.

In Ogun, attention has focused on questions surrounding the PDP’s membership register submitted to INEC. Allegations had previously emerged that Adebutu’s name was missing from the register.

The Ogun PDP, however, rejected the claims, insisting that Adebutu was a registered member and that the party had complied with the relevant requirements.

In Gombe, Pantami’s candidacy followed a legal challenge to the process that produced him as the PDP’s flagbearer.

A Federal High Court ruling on September 24 nullified his initial emergence and ordered a fresh primary. Pantami subsequently won the rerun conducted on September 29.

The developments have brought renewed attention to the legal requirements governing party membership registers and the selection of candidates ahead of the next general elections.

The Supreme Court’s September 24 judgment in INEC v Zenith Labour Party is also central to the debate over compliance with electoral law provisions on party membership records.

Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires political parties to submit their digital membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before their primaries, congresses or conventions.

Other provisions in the section restrict participation in those processes to members whose names appear in the submitted registers.

The All Progressives Congress has separately written to INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, seeking enforcement of the Supreme Court judgment.

The party also cited Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides for the enforcement of Supreme Court decisions throughout Nigeria.

Ladi Adebutu and Pantami’s absence from the final lists does not, by itself, establish that the membership-register rules were responsible. INEC’s specific reasons for the omissions have not been established in the information available for this report.

The omissions leave the PDP facing questions over its representation in two governorship contests, although the implications for each candidate may differ depending on the circumstances of their nominations.

INEC’s explanation for the omissions, and whether the PDP can challenge them through available legal channels ahead of the 2027 elections, remain key questions.