The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has excluded Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidates Ladi Adebutu in Ogun State and Isa Ali Pantami in Gombe State from its final lists for the February 6, 2027 elections.
The lists, signed by INEC Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony and published on the commission’s website on Saturday, contain 13 candidates in Ogun and 16 in Gombe, with no PDP candidate listed in either state.
In Ogun, Adebutu and his running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, were absent amid questions over the party’s membership register submitted to INEC.
The omission followed allegations that Adebutu’s name was missing from the register. However, the Ogun PDP rejected the claims, insisting that he was a registered member and that the party had complied with the relevant legal requirements.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, and his running mate, Kudirat Abiodun Balogun, were included on the list. Jimi Lawal, an ally of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, was listed as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate.
In Gombe, Pantami’s exclusion came after a legal dispute over the process that produced him as the PDP candidate.
The Federal High Court in Gombe, on September 24, nullified his initial emergence and ordered a fresh primary within 30 days, ruling that the earlier exercise failed to comply with party procedures and electoral laws.
Pantami, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, won the rerun primary on September 29, defeating Khamisu Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry.
INEC did not state why the two PDP candidates were excluded from the final lists.
Last week, INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education Mohammed Haruna said parties that failed to meet membership-register requirements would not be permitted to field affected candidates or substitute them.
Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 provides that political parties have 14 days to notify INEC in writing, accompanied by an affidavit, if a nominated candidate’s name is missing.
