INEC Opens Appeal Window for 2027 Governorship Candidates Dropped Following Supreme Court Ruling
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has opened a 14-day appeal window for political parties to contest the exclusion of several governorship candidates following a Supreme Court ruling.
Newsnibs Staff
- 2026-10-14
- Updated 7:48 AM UTC
(Nigeria)
Oladipupo Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party's candidate for governor of Ogun State, and Isa Ali Pantami, the party's candidate in Gombe State, are among the candidates left off Nigeria's final list for the 2027 governorship election, after the Independent National Electoral Commission said Tuesday it would give political parties a window to contest the exclusions. The commission, in a statement from National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna, set October 24 as the deadline for parties to formally notify INEC if they believe their candidates were wrongly dropped, a 14-day window mandated by Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The exclusions trace back to a Supreme Court ruling on September 24 in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, which upheld the constitutionality of Sections 77(5) to 77(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026. Those provisions required political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC between April 21 and May 10, requiring compliance in order to conduct valid primaries and sponsor candidates. Parties that missed that submission window were deemed ineligible to field governorship candidates, and INEC dropped them from the final list as a result.
Accounts of exactly what gave INEC the authority to remove those parties' candidates differ. One account of the ruling says INEC acted under Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution in dropping non-compliant parties from the governorship list. A separate account describes the 14-day challenge window itself as resting on Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, without reference to the constitutional provision.
Aminu Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate for governor of Kano State, was also omitted. In Jigawa State, the African Democratic Congress protested the exclusion of its deputy governorship candidate, Aminu Ringim. Affected parties have threatened legal action over the omissions, and protests have followed the announcement.
The final lists for presidential and National Assembly candidates, published September 12, were compiled before the Supreme Court judgment and are not affected by it.
The 2027 governorship elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
