Political parties have until October 24 to challenge the exclusion of their governorship candidates. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the date for the 2027 elections.
The commission said the deadline follows Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026. That provision gives parties 14 days after publication to raise complaints. Any party that believes its candidate was wrongly left out must notify INEC within that window.
Mohammed Kudu Haruna made the disclosure in a statement on Tuesday. He is a National Commissioner and chairs INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee.
Why Some Candidates Were Dropped
INEC linked the omissions to a recent Supreme Court judgment. The ruling came on September 24, 2026, in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party (Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026).
The court upheld Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026. Those provisions require parties to submit their membership registers before holding valid primaries. The court also backed Item 2 of INEC’s timetable. That item set the submission window from April 21 to May 10, 2026.
According to INEC, the apex court called compliance mandatory. Parties that failed to submit their registers cannot sponsor candidates. As a result, the commission excluded such parties from the governorship list.
Presidential and National Assembly Lists
The federal lists were treated differently. INEC published the final lists for presidential and National Assembly candidates on September 12, 2026. That was 13 days before the Supreme Court gave its judgment. The commission said the earlier publication came before the ruling. By contrast, it finalised the governorship list in line with the decision.
Legal Basis
INEC cited Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. The section requires the enforcement of decisions by superior courts. The commission also promised to uphold transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.
