Opposition Leaders Petition INEC Over Alleged Attempt To Circumvent Electoral ACT

Two opposition figures have petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission over an alleged attempt to circumvent provisions of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026 and undermine a binding Supreme Court judgment in the Algon State People's Democratic Party. Governorship Dispute. The petitioners, Labor Party National Vice Chairman for the Southwest and former Algon State IPAC Chairman, Dr. Arabambi Abayomi, an Action Alliance Governorship candidate in Algon State, Professor Awofala Awani Awolola, raised the concerns during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday. They alleged that individuals acting in the interest of PDP chieftain Oladipupo Adebutu were seeking to retrospectively regularize his alleged omission from the party's membership register through an affidavit. According to the petitioners, the PDP conducted its governorship primary for Algon State ahead of the 2027 general election. at 2026 and to undermine the binding judgment of the Supreme Court in the Ogunseye PDP Governorship matter. Good morning, gentlemen of the press. We've gathered here today to brief you on a matter of grave legal and institutional concern where some elements are planning to surreptitiously import Minister Lade Adebutu's name into the the PDP register, and cause INE to publish and announce him to the public tomorrow, Thursday, the 29th day of October, 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. I will set out the fact, the law, and the action we have taken, and I will take your question at the end. You will recall that the People's Democratic Party conducted the governorship primary for Ogun State at the 2027 election on Sunday, May 24, 2026 in Abuja and what transpired at the primary. You will also recall that in accordance with Section 77 of the Electoral Act, the party was required to submit its membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission no later than 21 days before that primary. The register submitted to the commission is the only register and the law recognizes for that purpose of determining who may vote and who may be voted for at the party primary. When the register was submitted, the name of Oladipo Adebutu was not on it. A certified true copy of the register was issued by INEC on the 20th of July, 2026, and that document confirmed the position. We have now received credible information that certain persons acting in the interest of Mr. Adebutu are seeking to produce the retrospective regularization of his omission from the register through an affidavit. The affidavit is reportedly deposed to by a person described as the National Organising Secretary of PDP, according to the information available to us. The deponent claimed that the omission of Mr. Adebutu's name from the register submitted to the commission was an error attributed to the political party. Our attention has been drawn to a disclosure as reported to one Jasper Aniemefon Lewis, a member of the Executive Committee of PDP, in a WhatsApp discussion concerning this controversy, specifically Ogun governor's focus. According to the information made available to us, Jasper disclosed that the National Organising Secretary has indeed deposed to such an affidavit, explaining that the omission was an error on the part of the party. We are not presently in possession of the affidavit itself, but the source of this information, a serving member of the Executive Committee of PDP, is sufficiently credible to warrant immediate verification and investigation by the Commission. why this matter. We are particularly concerned that this affidavit may be intended for use in persuading or inducing officials of the commission to recognize, accept or retrospectively validate the adept to name as a candidate of the PDP. We have received information alleging that the affidavit may be intended for use by the commission tomorrow Thursday, 29th October, which is tomorrow, to announce and republish the name of Mr. Oladipo Adebutu as the gubernatorial candidate of Ogun State, of PDP in Ogun State. If such a step is taken, it will raise fundamental questions about compliance with the electoral act, the integrity of the Commission's statutory record, and the obligations of the Commission to us, consistently with the binding decision of the Supreme Court. 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 this record and it must investigate thoroughly and act in accordance with the law, the law and the Supreme Court judgment. Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2022 establishes the framework regulating the submission and use of party membership register for the conduct of primary, congresses, and conventions. Section 77.4 requires submission of the register no later than 21 days before the primary. Section 77.5 restricts eligibility to vote and be voted for to persons whose names are contained in the register. while Section 77 says prohibiting a political party from using any register other than the one submitted to the Commission. Section 77 of 7 prescribes the consequences of a party failure to submit a register within the stipulated period. 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. The law recognizes a fundamental distinction between an explanation from a non-compliance and a compliance itself. And affidavit, acknowledging that a name was omitted, cannot, without a legally recognized basis, establish that the name was contained in the register at the material time. And affidavit is a means of presenting evidence of fact 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. I must also remind the Commission of the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on 24 September 2026 in the case of INEC v. Standing Labour Party, Appeal No. Supreme Court, SC.CV. 495, 2026. the judgment contained the validity and operation of membership register requirements under Section 77 of the Electoral Act. By virtue of Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, the decision of Supreme Court abiding on all authorities and passing throughout the Federation, Neither the Commission nor any political party may lawfully circumvent a binding judicial interpretation of the governing statute through an administrative arrangement which the statute itself does not authorize. our demand. In the light of the foregoing, we have formally written to the Commission and we are demanding the following. First, the Commission must immediately preserve and secure the original membership register submitted by the PDP for the relevant Ogun State Governorship primary and the statutory copy of which were issued to us on 20 July 2026. Secondly, the The Commission must ascertain whether the PDP National Organization Secretary or any person purporting to occupy that office. The post was made public explaining the alleged omission of Mr. Lade Adebutu's name from the register. The Commission must also establish whether the said affidavit had been submitted to it, the date, circumstances of its submission, the identity of the receiving official and the purpose of which it was submitted. The Commission must ensure that no subsequent deposit affidavit or explanatory document is treated as having retrospectively inserted Mr. Adebutu's name into the original statutory register, except where such treatment is explicitly authorized or ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. Fourth, the Commission must investigate any credible allegations of collusion, improper interference and administrative manipulation involving officials of the Commission or persons acting in the interests of Mr. Adebutu. We have asked the Commission to acknowledge the receipt of our letter, which they have done, and within 24 hours of receipt, to communicate to the immediate measure taken to preserve the relevant record and to commence investigation on the matter we have raised. Conclusion Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we are not opposed to the commission receiving or examining any document lawfully submitted to it. What we firmly oppose to is the use of affidavit or any other post-submission document to achieve, through administrative accommodation, what the governing system does not permit. The Commission is the statutory custodian of our electoral record. It must ensure that those records are preserved in the original form and that any subsequent communication, affidavit, connection request or explanatory document is separately recorded with its actual date of receipt and provenance. No official, however highly placed, should be permitted to compromise the integrity of his record or confer an advantage on any political party or aspirant through an administrative process unsupported by law. 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 submission of the statutory register will be challenged before a court of competent jurisdiction. We reserve the right to invoke all appropriate judicial, administrative and other lawful remedies should the credible evidence establish that the relevant statutory record has been unlawfully altered, substituted, manipulated or otherwise compromised. The integrity of 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. Thank you for your attention.