Governorship candidates excluded from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) final list for the February 6, 2027, elections will know their fate today (Thursday), when the commission meets.
Among them are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in Gombe and Ogun states, Professor Isa Pantami and Ladi Adebutu.
INEC National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna confirmed to Punch on Wednesday that the issue was on the commission’s meeting agenda.
“As for the final list of candidates, we will meet on it at our next commission meeting on Thursday,” he said.
Others affected include the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidates in Kano and Kaduna states, Aminu Gwarzo and Danjuma Laah.
The commission also excluded 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.
Their exclusion from the October 10 list has triggered protests and lawsuits.
INEC said it dropped the candidates because their parties did not submit their membership registers within the legal timeframe.
The commission based its decision on the September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment that affirmed Sections 77(5), 77(6), and 77(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which make submitting membership registers a precondition for valid primaries.
According to INEC, the apex court also upheld its timetable, which required parties to submit the registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
It said parties that defaulted had forfeited the right to field candidates, adding that it was bound by Section 287(1) of the Constitution to enforce court decisions.
The affected parties have disputed INEC’s position, maintaining that they fulfilled all legal requirements.
The PDP has written to the commission over Pantami and Adebutu, and on October 15, its National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, filed an affidavit at the Federal High Court Registry, Abuja, challenging the omissions.
The party’s spokesman, Mohammed Jungudo, said it would head to court if the matter was not resolved.
In Ogun, the state PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella, said the party remained hopeful.
“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 said the former minister would fight his exclusion through all legal means.
Pantami, who won a court-ordered rerun of the PDP primary on September 29, was on INEC’s provisional list published on August 29 but missing from the final list.
The NDC has also kicked against the removal of Gwarzo and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the party had received acknowledgement of its letters from INEC but no response yet.
Parties had until October 24, 14 days after the publication of the final list, to notify INEC of wrongly omitted candidates, as provided in Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
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