NDC, SDP Candidates Petition INEC Over Exclusion From 2027 Election List
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidates have petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the alleged omission of their names from the final list of candidates for the 2027 elections.
The NDC has given INEC 72 hours to publish the names of five of its governorship candidates and their running mates, while the SDP governorship candidate in Oyo State, Mogaji Olusegun Agboola, said he had challenged the omission of his name and was awaiting the commission’s response.
The development comes as INEC fixed October 24 as the deadline for political parties to notify it of complaints over the exclusion of their governorship candidates.
In a letter dated October 3 but received by the INEC chairman’s office on October 14, the NDC alleged that five of its duly nominated candidates and their running mates were missing from the published list.
The letter, signed by the party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe, and National Secretary, Barrister Ikenna Morgan Enekweizu, urged the commission to correct the alleged omissions within 72 hours.
The affected candidates are Abdulsalam Aminu Gwarzo and running mate Rabiu Mustapha in Kano State; Odey John Upan and Archibong Stella Charles in Cross River; Laah Danfuma Tella and Sani Bashir in Kaduna; Muktar Faruk Alhaji and Ayuba Shamsudeen in Kebbi; and Odusina Bolaji Marie and Adeyemi Yunus Adesina in Ogun State.
The NDC’s Kano State chairman, Husseini Mairiga, confirmed that the party had submitted a complaint over Gwarzo’s exclusion, insisting that the candidate was duly registered.
Mairiga said Gwarzo registered with the party on May 5, 2026, at Gwarzo Ward, Kofar Fada polling unit, Gwarzo II, with membership number NDC 2026-KAN-457597. He expressed confidence that a review of the party’s membership register would establish the candidate’s eligibility.
In a separate development, Agboola said he had challenged his exclusion at the Federal High Court in Ibadan after filing an affidavit as directed by INEC.
He called on the commission to correct what he described as an error, adding that the October 24 deadline provided an opportunity to resolve the matter.
INEC, however, attributed the exclusion of some candidates to compliance issues arising from statutory requirements and a Supreme Court judgment.
The commission said the apex court, in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, delivered on September 24, upheld Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, as well as its timetable requiring political parties to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
According to INEC, parties that failed to submit their membership registers as required were ineligible to sponsor candidates in the elections. It said the requirements were applied when finalising the governorship candidates’ list.
Citing Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the commission said it was constitutionally bound to enforce decisions of superior courts.
The controversy has also reportedly affected former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, and the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, whose names were also said to be missing from the final list.
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