Updated guber lists: INEC okays 41, rejects 28 petitions

•Approves 25 petitions for Assembly polls •Names wrongly published removed
•Cleared candidates, parties, affected states to get update on website

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved 41 of 69 petitions received over omission of candidates from final list of governorship candidates for 2027 general election.

The commission also approved 25 of 61 petitions for State Houses of Assembly.

Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Haruna said petitions were received after publication of final lists of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates on October 10, 2026.

He said complaints concerned omission of certain political parties, wrongful inclusion of candidates whose names were not contained in membership registers submitted by their parties, and instances of alleged multiple nominations.

“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,” he said.

He said commission also approved removal of candidates whose nominations were found to be inconsistent with applicable legal requirements.

“In particular, decisions affecting State Houses of Assembly candidates sponsored by political parties were informed by specific complaints received and determined in accordance with law and Commission’s established criteria,” he said.

He said in summary, 69 petitions were received from12 political parties across 26states for governorship election, with 41 succeeding and28 failing.

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Similarly, he said 61 petitions were received from 11 political parties across 11 states for State Houses of Assembly, with 25 succeeding and 36 failing.

“The affected candidates, political parties and states will be reflected in updated list on Commission’s website,” Haruna said.

He assured public of commission’s commitment to transparency and credibility of electoral process.

Background:

The petitions include those relating to omission of names of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami; Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate, Abdulsalam Gwarzo; his counterpart in Kaduna State, Senator Danjuma Laah; Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate nominee for Benue State, Sebastine Hon; governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and others.

INEC had defended omis-sion of some candidates from final list for 2027 governorship election, citing recent judgment of Supreme Court. In a press statement signed on October 13, 2026, byHaruna, commission said its action was in line withSupreme Court decision in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, delivered on September 24, 2026.

According to commission, Supreme Court held that provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of Electoral Act, 2026, requiring submission of membership registers as prerequisite for valid party primaries, are constitutional and mandatory, and failure to comply renders defaulting parties ineligible to sponsor any candidate.

INEC said final list of Presidential and National Assembly candidates had already been published on September 12, 2026, thirteen days before Supreme Court judgement, adding that under Section 32(2) of Electoral Act, 2026, political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted have 14 days from date of publication to notify commission, with deadline set for October 24, 2026.

On Saturday, 10 October, 2036, the Commission published final list of 936 governorship/deputy governorship candidates and 9,692 State House of Assembly candidates nominated by 21 political parties ahead of 2027 general elections.

However, lists did not include three governorship candidates of PDP and NDC in Ogun, Gombe andKano States, including PDP candidate in Ogun State, Hon Oladipupo Adebutu, PDP candidate in Gombe State, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and NDC governorship candidate in Kano State, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo.