2027 Election: Missing Candidates, Party Disputes Raise Questions Over INEC List

The exclusion of several political candidates from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s final list for the 2027 general elections has opened a fresh round of uncertainty for political parties, with nomination disputes, membership registration issues and pending legal battles complicating preparations for the polls.

Among the prominent politicians affected are former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, whose name is missing from the Gombe State governorship list, and Oladipupo Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State. Their absence has raised concerns about the processes through which political parties submit candidates and the steps available to those seeking to challenge omissions.

The controversy comes at a critical stage of preparations for the 2027 elections, as political parties work to confirm their candidates and resolve disagreements that could affect their participation. Although some parties believe the omissions may be linked to administrative or technical errors, others face deeper disputes over party membership, primary elections and the validity of nominations.

The PDP has said it is engaging INEC to resolve the absence of its governorship candidates in Ogun and Gombe states. The party maintained that it was pursuing an amicable resolution in accordance with electoral laws and established guidelines, while urging its members and supporters to remain calm as discussions continue.

Adebutu, meanwhile, has maintained that he remains a duly registered PDP member and fulfilled the requirements for his candidacy. He said his digital membership registration was completed within the stipulated period, his membership card was printed and verified, and the party’s primary that produced him as its candidate was conducted in the presence of INEC officials acting as observers.

Despite these claims, the final governorship lists published for Ogun and Gombe states did not include PDP candidates. The omission has left the party working to establish the circumstances behind the development and determine the available options for securing its candidates’ inclusion.

The situation is not limited to the PDP. In Kaduna State, the Nigeria Democratic Congress has also raised concerns over the omission of its governorship candidate, Senator Danjuma La’ah. The party attributed the problem to discrepancies in the registration of his name, which it said may have resulted from network problems and repeated attempts to complete the online registration process.

The NDC said efforts were being made to establish that the different versions of the candidate’s name referred to the same person. The case has added another dimension to the controversy, highlighting how registration details can become significant in determining whether a candidate appears on the electoral commission’s published list.

Internal party disagreements have also affected legislative contests. In Lagos State, Ganiyu Egunjobi and Azeez Ninalowo, who reportedly won the All Progressives Congress primaries in Agege Constituencies I and II, were subsequently dropped from the party’s final tickets and later defected to the Allied Peoples Movement.

Another disputed case involves Noheem Adams, the Lagos State House of Assembly Majority Leader, who reportedly won the APC primary for Eti-Osa Constituency I with 7,638 votes against Saheed Bankole’s 1,225. Bankole’s name, however, appeared as the party’s candidate on INEC’s final list, raising further questions about the relationship between primary election results and the candidates eventually submitted to the commission.

The disputes are unfolding against the background of a Supreme Court judgment concerning provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 on political party membership registers and candidate nominations. The restored provisions require parties to use membership registers submitted to INEC within the prescribed period for their primaries and set out requirements governing the selection of candidates.

The judgment has heightened scrutiny of party registration records and nomination procedures. However, it did not automatically disqualify every politician whose membership or nomination process has attracted questions. The circumstances of individual candidates remain important in determining whether their nominations complied with the applicable requirements.

For affected candidates, the immediate concern is whether their parties can resolve the discrepancies or pursue legal remedies within the relevant electoral timelines. For the parties, the omissions present both an administrative challenge and a test of their ability to manage nomination procedures transparently.

INEC’s published list is a key part of the electoral process because it identifies the candidates cleared to contest the relevant elections. Where a party’s preferred candidate is absent, the issue can generate disputes over compliance, eligibility and the proper interpretation of electoral rules.

As preparations for the 2027 elections continue, the unresolved cases are likely to keep attention focused on candidate registration, party primaries and the procedures for correcting errors or challenging disputed nominations. The outcome of these engagements will determine whether the affected parties can secure changes to the list or must pursue other remedies under the law.