The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved 41 out of 69 petitions challenging the omission of governorship candidates from its final list for the 2027 general election.
The commission also approved 25 of the 61 petitions submitted over the omission of candidates from the final list for State Houses of Assembly elections.
INEC Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday.
Haruna said the petitions followed the publication of the final lists of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates on October 10, 2026.
According to him, the complaints involved the omission of political parties, wrongful inclusion of candidates whose names were absent from membership registers submitted by their parties, and alleged multiple nominations.
He explained that the commission reviewed the complaints alongside relevant records and applicable legal provisions before reaching its decisions.
“Following review of complaints, relevant records and applicable legal provisions, Commission found merit in some representations and approved inclusion of affected candidates and their political parties, while complaints found to be without merit were declined. In addition, some names that were wrongfully published in the final list were removed after verifying that their names were not on register,” Haruna said.
He added that INEC also approved the removal of candidates whose nominations were inconsistent with applicable legal requirements.
INEC Releases Breakdown of Approved Petitions
Providing a breakdown, Haruna said 69 petitions were received from 12 political parties across 26 states over the governorship election.
Of the total, 41 petitions were successful, while 28 were rejected.
For the State Houses of Assembly elections, INEC received 61 petitions from 11 political parties across 11 states.
The commission approved 25 petitions and rejected 36.
Haruna said the affected candidates, political parties and states would be reflected in an updated list to be published on the commission’s website.
He reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to transparency and the credibility of the electoral process.
Pantami, Gwarzo, Adebutu Among Affected Candidates
The petitions reportedly involved several prominent political figures and governorship candidates, including former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami; Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate, Abdulsalam Gwarzo; and Senator Danjuma Laah, his counterpart in Kaduna State.
Others include Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship nominee in Benue State, Sebastine Hon, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu.
The development follows INEC’s earlier defence of its decision to exclude some candidates from the final lists, citing a recent Supreme Court judgement.
In a statement signed by Haruna on October 13, 2026, the commission said its decision was based on the Supreme Court judgement in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, delivered on September 24, 2026.
According to INEC, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality and mandatory nature of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires political parties to submit their membership registers as a prerequisite for valid party primaries.
The commission said failure to comply with the requirements renders defaulting political parties ineligible to sponsor candidates.
INEC also explained that the final lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates had been published on September 12, 2026, before the Supreme Court judgement.
It cited Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which provides a 14-day window for political parties to notify the commission of candidates they believe were wrongly omitted.
The deadline for such notifications was October 24, 2026.
On October 10, 2026, INEC published the final list of 936 governorship and deputy governorship candidates, alongside 9,692 State Houses of Assembly candidates nominated by 21 political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, the lists excluded several candidates, including PDP’s governorship candidates in Ogun and Gombe states and the NDC candidate in Kano State.
They included Oladipupo Adebutu of the PDP in Ogun State, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami of the PDP in Gombe State, and Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo of the NDC in Kano State.
