Ogun 2027: Group Challenges Adebutu’s PDP Membership Record, Demands INEC Answers

The membership record backing Ladi Adebutu’s emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State has come under scrutiny after a civic group claimed his name is missing from a certified copy of the party’s register obtained from the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Elections Integrity Watch said the Certified True Copy in its possession does not list Adebutu among PDP members, prompting the group to demand an explanation from INEC over the records used to establish his membership and subsequent participation in the party’s governorship nomination process.

The group’s chairman, Akinlolu Anifowose, said the issue is not an allegation that INEC manipulated its records but a request for the commission to establish which document is authoritative.

“If the Certified True Copy issued by the Commission does not contain Hon. Ladi Adebutu’s name, on what record is he now being presented as the PDP governorship candidate?” Anifowose asked.

Elections Integrity Watch wants INEC to disclose whether a later membership register containing Adebutu’s name was submitted and accepted.

It is also asking the commission to clarify when such a document was submitted, who submitted it and the legal basis on which it was accepted.

The group has called for the preservation of the relevant physical and electronic records, including membership registers, nomination documents, submission timestamps and audit trails, saying they could establish the sequence in which the documents were submitted and accepted.

The development comes against the backdrop of a recent Supreme Court decision concerning statutory provisions governing political party membership registers and their use in internal party elections.

The immediate issue according to the group, is  not simply whether Adebutu’s name appears on one copy of the PDP register, but which register was legally submitted to INEC and whether the relevant record supports his participation in the party’s nomination process.

Elections Integrity Watch said it wants the matter resolved through verifiable documents and the applicable law, rather than political claims.

INEC’s response could determine whether the alleged discrepancy amounts to a documentation issue or raises a substantive question about the PDP’s 2027 governorship nomination in Ogun State.