Daud Olatunji
The Peoples Democratic Party candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District, Senator Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, remains eligible to contest the 2027 election, her media aide, Dr Odun Agbalajobi, has said, dismissing claims that Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment automatically disqualified her from the race.
Agbalajobi, in a statement on Friday, described reports linking the September 24, 2026, judgment of the apex court to Obasanjo’s candidacy as a “misleading interpretation” of the ruling.
The Supreme Court had, on Thursday, upheld an appeal by the Independent National Electoral Commission and restored provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to political party membership registers and candidate nomination procedures.
A seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Adamu Jauro, set aside the earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal which had voided Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.
The court held that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and also awarded N2m costs against the Zenith Labour Party, which had challenged the provisions.
But Obasanjo’s aide argued that the judgment did not concern the former Ogun State First Lady and did not contain any order barring her from contesting the Ogun Central senatorial election.
According to him, the case before the Supreme Court involved INEC and the ZLP and was centred on the validity of specified provisions of the Electoral Act.
“Senator Iyabo Obasanjo was not a party to that case. Her name was not the subject of the judgment, and the Supreme Court did not issue any order disqualifying her from contesting the 2027 Ogun Central Senatorial election,” Agbalajobi said.
He maintained that the restoration of the disputed provisions of the Electoral Act should not be interpreted as a blanket disqualification of politicians who had moved from one political party to another.
The aide said there was a distinction between a court interpreting electoral requirements and a judicial determination specifically declaring a candidate ineligible to contest an election.
“No such determination was made against Senator Iyabo Obasanjo in Thursday’s judgment,” he said.
Agbalajobi further stated that Obasanjo resigned from the All Progressives Congress in May 2026 before returning to the PDP, where she was subsequently received and presented with the party’s Ogun Central senatorial ticket.
He challenged those circulating claims of her alleged disqualification to identify the portion of the Supreme Court judgment where Obasanjo was mentioned or any specific order invalidating the PDP’s nomination of her.
“Those circulating these claims should produce the specific paragraph of the Supreme Court judgment in which Senator Iyabo Obasanjo was mentioned, the specific order disqualifying her, or the specific judicial pronouncement invalidating the PDP’s nomination of her,” he said.
The Supreme Court’s judgment followed a legal battle that began when the ZLP challenged the constitutionality of provisions governing party membership registers and candidate nomination.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had initially dismissed the suit on May 5, prompting the ZLP to appeal. The Court of Appeal subsequently voided the disputed provisions in July, leading INEC to approach the Supreme Court.
The apex court has now reversed that appellate decision and restored the disputed provisions ahead of the 2027 elections.
Agbalajobi urged voters in Ogun Central to distinguish between the Supreme Court’s actual decision and political interpretations of its implications.
He said Obasanjo would continue her engagements with constituents and focus on issues affecting communities across Ogun Central.
“The electorate deserves facts, not legal conjecture presented as judicial pronouncement,” he added.
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