Governorship candidates omitted from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s final list for the February 6, 2027, elections will know their fate on Thursday as the commission meets to consider the matter.
Among those affected are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in Gombe and Ogun states, Professor Isa Pantami and Ladi Adebutu.
INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, confirmed the development to Punch on Wednesday, saying the issue would be discussed at the commission’s meeting.How to make a woman wet instantly – Watch full video
“As for the final list of candidates, we will meet on it at our next commission meeting on Thursday,” he said.
Other affected candidates include Aminu Gwarzo and Danjuma Laah of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), who are contesting the governorship elections in Kano and Kaduna states, respectively.
INEC also left out four governorship candidates in Bauchi State: Abdullahi Yakubu of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Musa Zubairu of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ahmed Shuaibu of the Action Alliance (AA), and Mohammed Aminu of Accord.
The candidates’ omission from the final list published on October 10 has sparked protests and legal challenges.
INEC explained that the affected political parties failed to submit their membership registers within the period stipulated by law.
The commission based its decision on a September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment, which upheld Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026. The provisions make the submission of party membership registers a requirement for conducting valid primary elections.
According to INEC, the Supreme Court also upheld its timetable requiring political parties to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
The commission maintained that parties that failed to meet the deadline had forfeited their right to nominate candidates for the elections. It added that it was constitutionally bound under Section 287(1) to enforce court decisions.
However, the affected parties have rejected INEC’s position, insisting that they complied with all legal requirements.
The PDP has written to the commission over the exclusion of Pantami and Adebutu. On October 15, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, also filed an affidavit at the Federal High Court Registry in Abuja to challenge the omission.
The party’s spokesman, Mohammed Jungudo, said the PDP would approach the court if the issue was not resolved.
In Ogun State, PDP Chairman Abayomi Tella expressed confidence that INEC would correct what he described as an error.
“The party views the omission as an error by INEC; we are very confident and optimistic that INEC will restore the name because every requirement of the law has been fulfilled,” Tella said.
An aide to Pantami also stated that the former minister would explore all available legal options to challenge his exclusion.
Pantami won a court-ordered rerun of the PDP governorship primary on September 29. His name appeared on INEC’s provisional list published on August 29 but was missing from the final list released in October.
The NDC has similarly protested the exclusion of its Kano governorship candidate, Aminu Gwarzo, and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said INEC had acknowledged receipt of its letters but had yet to respond to them.
Under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, political parties had until October 24, 14 days after the publication of the final list, to notify INEC of any candidates wrongly omitted.
The commission’s meeting on Thursday is expected to address the dispute over the affected candidates ahead of the February 6, 2027, governorship elections.