The National Vice Chairman South West of the Labour Party, Dr. Arabambi Abayomi, has raised alarm over an alleged plot to circumvent Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026 and undermine a binding judgment of the Supreme Court in the Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party governorship matter.
Speaking at a press conference in Abeokuta, Dr. Arabambi told journalists that credible information indicates plans to surreptitiously input the name of Mr. Ladi Adebutu into the PDP register and cause the Independent National Electoral Commission to publish and announce same on October 29th, 2026.
“This is not a matter of party politics. It is a matter that touches the very foundation of our electoral system and the rule of law in this country,” he said.
He explained that the Peoples Democratic Party conducted its governorship primary for Ogun State ahead of the 2027 general elections on Sunday, 24th May 2026, and that in accordance with Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, the party was required to submit its membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission not later than twenty one days before that primary.
“The register submitted to the Commission is the only register that the law recognises for the purpose of determining who may vote and who may be voted for at that primary,” Dr. Arabambi stated.
According to him, when the register was submitted, the name of Mr. Oladipupo Adebutu was not on it, a position confirmed by a Certified True Copy of the register issued by INEC on 20th July 2026.
“We have now received credible information that certain persons acting in the interest of Mr. Adebutu are seeking to procure the retrospective regularisation of his omission from the register through an affidavit,” he alleged. “The affidavit is reportedly deposed to by a person described as the National Organising Secretary of the PDP.”
He said the deponent allegedly claims that the omission was an error attributable to the party, a disclosure he said was attributed to one Jasper Anietimfon Louis, a member of the Ogun State Executive Committee of the PDP, in a WhatsApp discussion concerning the controversy.
“We are not presently in possession of the affidavit itself. But the source of this information, a serving member of the Ogun State Executive Committee of the PDP, is sufficiently credible to warrant immediate verification and investigation by the Commission,” he said.
Dr. Arabambi expressed concern that the affidavit may be intended to persuade officials of the Commission to recognise Mr. Adebutu as candidate.
“We are particularly concerned that this affidavit may be intended for use in persuading or inducing officials of the Commission to recognise, accept or retrospectively validate Mr. Adebutu’s name as a candidate of the PDP,” he warned.
He added, “We have received information alleging that the affidavit may be intended for use by the Commission on 29th October 2026, which is tomorrow, to announce and republish the name of Mr. Oladipupo Adebutu as the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in Ogun State.”
“If such a step is taken, it would raise fundamental questions about compliance with the Electoral Act, the integrity of the Commission’s statutory records and the obligation of the Commission to act consistently with the binding decisions of the Supreme Court,” he noted.
“I want to be clear. We are not accusing any official of the Commission of wrongdoing. We do not invite the Commission to presume misconduct on the part of any official without proper investigation. What we are saying is that the Commission is the statutory custodian of these records, and it must investigate thoroughly and act in accordance with the law,” he emphasized.
On the legal framework, he cited Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, stating that Section 77(4) requires submission of the register not later than twenty one days before the primary, while Section 77(5) restricts eligibility to vote and be voted for to persons whose names are contained in the register.
“These are not ornamental provisions. They are substantive statutory safeguards designed to protect the integrity of the electoral process. They cannot be set aside by the simple device of an affidavit,” he declared.
“An affidavit is a means of presenting evidence of facts within the knowledge of the deponent. It is not an instrument for amending an Act of the National Assembly, replacing a statutory register, retrospectively satisfying a mandatory statutory condition or altering the judgment of the Supreme Court,” Dr. Arabambi said.
He also reminded INEC of the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on 24th September 2026 in the case of INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, insisting that by virtue of Section 287(1) of the Constitution, decisions of the Supreme Court are binding on all authorities.
In his demands to the Commission, he said, “The Commission must immediately preserve and secure the original membership register submitted by the PDP” and must ensure that “no subsequently deposed affidavit or explanatory document is treated as having retrospectively inserted Mr. Adebutu’s name into the original statutory register, except where such treatment is expressly authorised or ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.”
He concluded, “We are placing the Commission formally on notice that any purported retrospective alteration of the membership register, or administrative recognition founded upon a legally impermissible substitution of the statutory register, will be challenged before a court of competent jurisdiction. The integrity of our democracy and the rule of law must be protected. We will not stand by while the rules are bent for the benefit of one man.”
