The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, October 13, gave political parties whose names of candidates were omitted from its final list for the 2027 governorship and National Assembly elections until October 24 to notify it of the omissions.
The commission said the deadline was in line with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which provides a 14-day window for political parties to notify it if they believe their candidates were wrongly excluded from the list.
INEC made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday evening by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, amid controversy over the omission of several prominent politicians from the final list of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates.
Names of two PDP governorship candidates, Ladi Adebutu (Ogun State) and Isa Ali Pantami (Gombe), and their running mates were missing in the list of candidates released by INEC last Saturday.
The statement by INEC reads: “The general public is aware of the recent decision of the Supreme Court in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026 delivered on 24th September, 2026. The decision arose from INEC’s appeal against the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 requiring the submission of membership registers as a prerequisite for the conduct of valid party primaries.
“However, the Supreme Court, in the aforementioned judgment, held that the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 are constitutional and mandatory for all political parties. In particular, the Court upheld the constitutionality of Item No. 2 of INEC’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities, which mandated political parties to submit their membership registers between 21st April and 10th May, 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.
“In accordance with Section 287(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the commission, while finalising 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.
“Meanwhile, the final list of presidential and National Assembly candidates had already been published on 12th September, 2026, thirteen days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment.
“Under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly left off the list have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the commission. The deadline is 24th October, 2026.
“The commission assures the public of its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.”
