The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given political parties whose governorship candidates were omitted from the final list for the 2027 elections until October 24, 2026, to notify it of alleged errors.
INEC announced the deadline in a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, citing Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which provides a 14-day window for parties to report omissions.
Among the affected candidates are the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidates in Ogun and Gombe states, Oladipupo Adebutu and Isa Ali Pantami, respectively. The Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate in Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo, was also omitted, while the African Democratic Congress in Jigawa State protested the exclusion of its deputy governorship candidate, Aminu Ringim, and other candidates.
The commission explained that the omissions followed the Supreme Court’s September 24 judgment affirming the constitutionality of provisions requiring political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC within the stipulated period. The court also ruled that parties that failed to comply with the requirements were ineligible to sponsor candidates.
INEC said it applied the judgment when compiling the final list of governorship candidates, adding that its actions were guided by the court’s decision and the constitutional requirement to enforce judicial rulings.
The commission urged affected parties that believe their candidates were wrongly excluded to submit their complaints before the October 24 deadline. It reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and credible elections ahead of the 2027 governorship polls.
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