The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced on Thursday that it has upheld 41 of the 69 petitions filed against the final list of governorship candidates for Nigeria’s 2027 general election, while rejecting the remaining 28.
The petitions, lodged by 12 political parties across 26 states, alleged the omission of certain parties, the wrongful inclusion of candidates whose parties were not on the submitted membership registers, and instances of alleged multiple nominations, the commission’s Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) chairman Mohammed Kudu Haruna said.
After reviewing the complaints against its records and the applicable legal provisions, INEC found merit in some representations, leading to the inclusion of the affected candidates and their parties. Complaints deemed without merit were declined, and names that were wrongly published in the final list were removed after verification. The commission also disqualified candidates whose nominations did not meet legal requirements.
Although INEC did not disclose specific names, a source confirmed that former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, Abdulsalam Gwarzo, were cleared to contest, subject to pending court cases. The same source said the petition by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, seeking a review of his exclusion, was unsuccessful.
For the State Houses of Assembly, the commission received 61 petitions from 11 parties across 11 states. Of these, 25 were upheld and 36 were rejected, with the outcomes to be reflected in an updated candidate list on INEC’s website.
INEC reiterated its commitment to transparency and the credibility of the electoral process, assuring the public that the revised lists will be made publicly available once finalized.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
