Commission Blames Failure to Submit Membership Registers, Gives Parties Until October 24 to Report Errors
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained that some candidates were excluded from the final list for the 2027 elections because their political parties failed to submit membership registers as required by law.
The clarification follows reactions from affected parties and candidates after the publication of the list, which omitted prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidates, including Isa Pantami in Gombe State and Ladi Adebutu in Ogun State.
Pantami’s name was missing despite his victory in a court-ordered rerun of the PDP governorship primary in Gombe. Adebutu and his running mate were also excluded from the Ogun State list.
The Ogun PDP subsequently accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of mounting pressure on INEC, while human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong called on the commission to demonstrate its impartiality.
In a statement on Tuesday, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the omissions followed the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026, judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026.
According to the commission, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Sections 77(5) to 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026, which set requirements for political parties’ membership registers.
INEC said the court also upheld its timetable requiring parties to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026. It added that parties that failed to meet the statutory requirements 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.
It noted, however, that the final lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates had been published on September 12, 2026, 13 days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment.
INEC further stated that, under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the commission.
The commission fixed October 24, 2026, as the deadline for such notifications.
INEC reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.