Missing Names, Party Disputes Cloud INEC’s 2027 Election Candidates’ List

The Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) publication of its final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections has triggered protests and fresh political disputes, with several parties questioning the omission of their governorship and legislative candidates. Among the prominent politicians missing from the published lists are former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in Kano State, Aminu Abdussalam-Gwarzo. The omissions have prompted affected parties to seek clarification from the electoral commission, with some attributing the discrepancies to administrative or technical errors and others facing questions over their membership records, nomination processes and internal leadership disputes. The controversy comes as political parties prepare for the 2027 polls and follows a Supreme Court judgment on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing party membership registers and candidate nominations. PDP candidates missing in Ogun, Gombe The absence of Adebutu and Pantami has become a major concern for the PDP, which has no governorship candidate listed in either Ogun or Gombe State. INEC’s published list contains 13 governorship candidates for Ogun and 16 for Gombe, but neither list includes a PDP candidate. The commission’s documents do not provide specific explanations for the omissions. Adebutu maintained that he remained a registered PDP member and had fulfilled the requirements for his candidacy. He said he completed his digital membership registration within the stipulated period, received a membership card and submitted the relevant documentation to INEC. He also argued that the primary election that produced him as the party’s governorship candidate was conducted in the presence of INEC officials, who attended as observers. The Ogun PDP said it was engaging the commission to resolve the matter. Adebutu also alleged that the party had faced pressure from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), questioning why his name was missing while the party’s candidates for legislative positions in the state appeared on the list. The allegation of political interference has not been independently established. In Gombe, Pantami’s omission followed a dispute over the process that produced him as the PDP candidate. A Federal High Court had nullified his initial emergence and ordered a fresh primary, which was conducted on September 29. Pantami subsequently won the rerun, but his name did not appear on INEC’s final list. His camp described the omission as a temporary setback and said its legal and liaison teams were engaging the relevant party organs and the electoral commission. The PDP has also urged affected candidates and supporters to remain calm while discussions continue. NDC raises concerns over Kano, Kaduna tickets The NDC has also protested the omission of its Kano governorship candidate, Gwarzo, and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso. The party’s Kano State chairman, Hussaini Mairiga, said their names were submitted in accordance with the relevant guidelines and statutory deadlines. He attributed the omission to a possible administrative mix-up and insisted that the party’s nominated candidates should be recognised. The party’s publicity secretary, Yusif Fasaha, also claimed that INEC had indicated that a computer-related problem was responsible and would be corrected. However, INEC had not publicly confirmed that a computer error caused the omission at the time of the report. The explanation therefore remains the party’s account, rather than an independently established finding by the commission. In Kaduna State, former senator Danjuma Tella La’ah, who is associated with the NDC’s governorship ticket, was also missing from the list. The party’s state chairman, Evangelist Mordecai Ibrahim, blamed the omission on a possible discrepancy in La’ah’s name following repeated attempts to complete his online registration amid network problems. Ibrahim said the party was trying to establish that the names appearing in its records referred to the same person. He expressed confidence that the matter could be resolved but did not disclose whether a formal petition had been submitted to INEC or court proceedings had begun. The dispute also follows an earlier disagreement within the Kaduna NDC over the selection of its governorship candidate, with La’ah and lawyer Mohammed Abbas previously mentioned as possible contenders. That history makes it important to distinguish a claimed registration error from the wider question of who was validly nominated by the party. Action Alliance threatens legal action The Action Alliance has threatened to challenge the omission of some of its governorship and legislative candidates. Its national chairman and presidential candidate, Adekunle Omo-Aje, said the party’s legal team was preparing to engage INEC over the affected nominations. The party identified its omitted governorship candidates as Eke Israel in Rivers State, Titilola-Sodo Dayo in Oyo, Abdullah-Bukharin in Nasarawa and Zubairu Musa in Bauchi. Omo-Aje maintained that the party had complied with the electoral commission’s guidelines and deadlines. He said the party would continue to pursue the matter through the available legal channels to prevent what he described as the disenfranchisement of legitimate candidates. The party’s position has yet to be established as an official finding by INEC. The threat of legal action indicates that the omissions could lead to further disputes if the parties and commission fail to resolve them. In Jigawa State, the African Democratic Congress also protested the omission of its endorsed deputy governorship candidate, Aminu Ringim, and several other candidates. The party said Ringim’s name had been replaced on the published list by Musa Balarabe, despite its claim that it had submitted its nominations in accordance with INEC’s guidelines. The ADC’s state leadership said it would continue engaging the commission and consider lawful options to address the omissions. Internal party disputes complicate other cases Not all the missing names appear to involve technical errors. In Plateau State, PDP governorship aspirant Sunday Biggs was absent from the list, while Ropshik Wungak appeared as the party’s candidate, with Kim Dung listed as his running mate. A party official linked the situation to the leadership dispute involving rival PDP factions associated with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Tanimu Turaki. The official said the matter remained before the Court of Appeal. The dispute illustrates how internal party conflicts can affect candidate selection and create uncertainty over which nominees should be recognised in the final list. In Bauchi State, the Social Democratic Party said it would hold an emergency meeting over the omission of some candidates, including its governorship candidate. The party’s state chairman, Nasiru Dan-Bauchi, linked the development to internal disagreements and said the state chapter would communicate its position to the national leadership. The New Nigeria Peoples Party also appealed for calm after its Bauchi governorship candidate, Ambassador Shuaibu Ahmed, was omitted. Its state chairman, Abdulkareem Matori, said the party was engaging the relevant authorities and remained hopeful that the issue would be resolved through lawful channels. In Benue State, the Social Democratic Party’s governorship candidate, Professor Sebastine Hon, was also missing from the published list. The party’s state chairman, Idoko Itodo, described the omission as a possible error and said the party would take up the matter with INEC. He maintained that Hon had met the membership requirements, although that claim had not been independently confirmed by the commission. Other reported omissions include candidates in Nasarawa, Oyo, Lagos and Borno states, where disputes over nominations, candidate replacements and party leadership have complicated the process. Age requirement explains Kwara candidate’s exclusion One case differs from those in which parties have alleged technical mistakes. The African Action Congress governorship candidate in Kwara State, Duwatsu Musa, was excluded because he had not reached the constitutionally prescribed minimum age for a governorship candidate. Musa confirmed that he was 34 and would turn 35 in February 2027. Section 177(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, requires a governorship candidate to have attained the age of 35. Musa said the decision would not prevent him from expressing his political views ahead of the election. He also indicated that he would announce his future political direction. His case demonstrates why the omissions cannot all be treated as equivalent. While some parties claim that eligible candidates were left out because of administrative errors, the Kwara exclusion was linked to a stated constitutional qualification requirement. Supreme Court judgment adds to nomination uncertainty The disputes have emerged following a Supreme Court judgment affirming provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 concerning political party membership registers and candidate nominations. INEC has said that parties which fail to comply with statutory requirements for submitting membership registers will not be permitted to field affected candidates or substitute them outside the applicable rules. The provisions have increased scrutiny of whether candidates were registered members of their parties within the required period and whether nomination procedures complied with the law. However, the existence of the judgment does not, by itself, establish the reason for every missing name. Each case requires consideration of the relevant party records, nomination process, court orders and INEC’s official position. As affected parties seek clarification, the key question is whether the omissions can be resolved through the procedures available under electoral law or will develop into further litigation ahead of the elections. For candidates and their supporters, appearing on the final list is a crucial step towards contesting the polls. For INEC, the disputes place renewed attention on the accuracy of the published records and the need to explain the status of contested nominations. With multiple parties reporting problems across different states, the outcome of the engagements and any subsequent legal proceedings will determine which disputed candidates can proceed towards the 2027 elections.