Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained the omission of certain candidates from its final list of governorship contenders for the 2027 elections, attributing the decision to parties’ failure to submit membership registers as required by law.
The commission said the exclusions followed a Supreme Court judgment delivered on September 24 in the case of INEC v. Zenith Labour Party. The ruling upheld the constitutionality of Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which makes submission of membership registers a prerequisite for valid party primaries.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said in a statement on Tuesday that the court also affirmed the commission’s timetable requiring parties to submit the registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
“Furthermore, the Court held that failure to comply with the provisions of Section 77(5)–(7), renders the defaulting political parties ineligible to sponsor any candidate for the election,” the statement said.
INEC said it applied the judgment when finalising the governorship candidates’ list, in line with Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which requires compliance with decisions of superior courts.
“In accordance with Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Commission, while finalizing the list of candidates for the Governorship election applied the above decision of the Supreme Court and excluded political parties that failed to comply with Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, in relation to fielding of candidates,” it added.
The commission noted that under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted have 14 days from the date of publication of the list to notify it. The deadline is October 24, 2026.
The clarification came after INEC published its final list on Saturday, which excluded several candidates, including those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun and Gombe states — Ladi Adebutu and Isa Ali Pantami — as well as figures linked to the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Kano.
Affected parties have indicated they will engage the commission and explore legal remedies.
