The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the exclusion of some governorship candidates from its final list for the 2027 elections to their political parties’ failure to submit membership registers as required by law.
The explanation comes amid controversy over the omission of prominent aspirants, including the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidates in Gombe and Ogun states, Isa Pantami and Ladi Adebutu.
Pantami’s name was missing despite winning a court-ordered rerun of the PDP governorship primary in Gombe, while Adebutu and his running mate were also excluded from the list.
The Ogun PDP had accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of mounting pressure on INEC, while human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong challenged the commission to demonstrate its impartiality.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, INEC said the omissions followed the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026, judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, which upheld the constitutionality of Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The provisions require political parties to submit their membership registers to the commission within the stipulated period.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the Supreme Court also upheld the commission’s timetable requiring parties to submit their registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
According to INEC, the court ruled that parties that failed to meet the requirement were ineligible to sponsor candidates in the elections.
The commission said it applied the judgment when finalising the governorship candidates’ list in line with Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
INEC noted that the final lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates had been published on September 12, 2026, before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment.
It added that Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, allows political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted to notify the commission within 14 days of publication.
The commission fixed October 24, 2026, as the deadline for the notifications.
INEC reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.
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