Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given political parties until 24 October to formally challenge the omission of candidates from its final lists for the 2027 governorship elections, setting out a statutory route for resolving disputes that have left several opposition hopefuls off the ballot.
The commission announced the deadline in a statement issued on Tuesday, 13 October, by Mohammed Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee. The clarification comes as the legal team for former communications minister Isa Ali Pantami’s governorship bid in Gombe State reaches a separate deadline it set for INEC to publish his name.
INEC said Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 gives political parties 14 days from publication of the final candidate list to notify the commission if they believe a nominee has been wrongly left out. The notice must be submitted in writing and comply with the law’s signature and affidavit requirements. For the lists published on 10 October, the deadline is 24 October.
The announcement provides an important date for parties and candidates seeking corrections. It does not, by itself, confirm that any particular omitted candidate will be restored. Each claim must be pursued through the applicable legal process, and the commission’s final decision or any court order will determine the outcome.
Why INEC says some candidates were omitted
In its statement, INEC linked the omissions to the Supreme Court’s 24 September judgment in the case of INEC v Zenith Labour Party. The court upheld the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026, which govern political party membership registers and their use in primaries, congresses and conventions.
INEC said the provisions are mandatory and that the judgment confirmed the requirement for parties to submit their membership registers within the period set out in the commission’s timetable, from 21 April to 10 May 2026. According to the commission, parties that did not comply were ineligible to sponsor candidates for the affected elections.
The commission said it applied the Supreme Court decision when finalising the governorship candidate lists. It also cited the constitutional requirement that authorities give effect to decisions of the courts. The statement was INEC’s clearest public explanation yet of the legal basis it says informed the exclusions.
However, the published lists do not provide an individual explanation beside each omitted name. That leaves affected parties with a practical task: identify the legal basis for the omission in their case, assemble the relevant records and meet the statutory notice requirements before the deadline.
Pantami’s separate deadline arrives
Pantami, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, was left off the final list of 16 candidates for the Gombe governorship election scheduled for 6 February 2027. His name had appeared on the provisional list published on 29 August, but was absent from the final list issued on 10 October. The list does not name a Peoples Democratic Party candidate for the state.
The dispute follows a Federal High Court judgment in Gombe on 24 September that nullified the PDP’s original primary of 26 May over procedural issues and ordered the party to conduct a fresh exercise within 30 days. Pantami won the rerun on 29 September. His lawyers say the rerun complied with the court’s order and that INEC officials monitored the exercise.
In a letter dated 12 October, the legal team led by Ahmed Raji & Co. asked INEC to publish Pantami’s name by Wednesday, 14 October, and confirm in writing what action it had taken. The lawyers argue that INEC’s role is to observe and report on party primaries, not to disqualify a nominated candidate. They warned that further legal action could follow if the demand was not met.
That demand is distinct from the statutory process INEC has now highlighted. The 14 October date comes from Pantami’s lawyers’ letter, while 24 October is the commission’s stated deadline for political parties to notify it of alleged errors under Section 32(2). The existence of the longer statutory window does not establish whether the party has completed every formal step required to challenge the omission.
Ogun and other states also affected
The dispute is not limited to Gombe. INEC’s final list for Ogun State also omitted PDP governorship candidate Oladipupo Adebutu and his running mate. The Ogun PDP has disputed the omission and maintained that Adebutu was properly registered with the party. The final list contains candidates from other parties, but no PDP governorship nominee.
Other reported omissions include Aminu Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Kano State, and Aminu Ringim, whom the African Democratic Congress endorsed as deputy governorship candidate in Jigawa State. The range of cases means the 24 October deadline could become a significant test of how parties interpret the Supreme Court ruling and how INEC applies it across different nominations.
The commission’s clarification is consequential because the membership-register rules affect more than the political fortunes of individual aspirants. They concern the procedures parties must follow to select candidates and the standards INEC says it must apply consistently. At the same time, an accurate candidate list is central to voters’ ability to understand who will appear on the ballot and which parties will be represented.
What happens next?
Political parties that believe an omission is mistaken should not rely on public statements alone. They need to follow the statutory notification procedure, including the required signatures and supporting affidavit, and keep records of any submission to the commission. Candidates and supporters should distinguish between a party’s claim that a nomination was valid and an official correction to the final list.
For Pantami, the immediate question is whether INEC will respond to his legal team’s 14 October demand and whether the PDP will pursue the statutory notice process and any further court action. For Adebutu and other affected nominees, the key date announced by INEC is 24 October. Neither the omission itself nor a party’s objection should be treated as proof of wrongdoing by any individual.
Podium News will continue to follow official INEC notices, court filings and statements from the affected parties as the deadline approaches. Readers should consult the commission’s published documents and verified legal updates for confirmation of any change to a candidate list.
