INEC to release final list of presidential, NASS candidates September 12
The Independent National Electoral Commission is expected to release the final list of candidates contesting the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, September 12, 2026.
Officials of the commission disclosed this in Abuja on Friday, saying INEC was currently fine tuning the list ahead of the statutory deadline.
Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires the final list of candidates for an election to be published at least 60 days before election day.
INEC had last month released a provisional list containing 19 presidential candidates, their running mates and their particulars. The commission also published the provisional list of candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives elections, which will hold on the same day as the presidential poll.
The window for the substitution of candidates for the presidential and National Assembly elections closed on August 22, while the deadline for the submission of nomination forms, Form EC13A-E, expired on August 29, 2026.
The publication of candidates’ Form EC9 is also a statutory requirement under Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates INEC to display the personal particulars of candidates after receiving their nomination forms.
The 19 presidential candidates on the provisional list are Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress; Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress; Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress; Senator Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party; Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress; Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party; Okwori Ada Elizabeth Frederick of the National Democratic Party; Chukwu Anita Zugwai of the Young Progressives Party; Rufai Adekunle Omoaje of the Action Alliance; Adenuga Sunday of the Boot Party; Memeh Samuel of the Democratic Liberty Alliance; Nwanyanwu Daniel Danerechukwu of the Zenith Labour Party; Okereke Sunday Chibuzor of the Labour Party; Okereke Iken Esther of the National Rescue Movement; Abbas Bin Aliyu of the Action Democratic Party; Dikwa Suleiman Mohammed of the New Nigeria Peoples Party; Adebayo Adewole Ebenezer of the Social Democratic Party; Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement; and Yusuf Kabiru of the Action Peoples Party.
The provisional list of vice presidential candidates includes Kashim Shettima of the APC, Rotimi Amaechi of the ADC, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NDC, Umaru Babangida of the PDP, Magashi Haruna Garba of the AAC, Buba Musa of the PRP, Ibrahim Adamu Bala of the APM and Bugaje Usman Mohammed of the SDP, among others.
The APC, PDP and ADC are expected to field candidates for all 469 National Assembly seats comprising 109 Senate and 360 House of Representatives positions. The NDC, meanwhile, is expected to field candidates for all 109 senatorial seats and 219 House of Representatives seats.
However, the candidate selection process has triggered legal disputes in some political parties, with some aspirants challenging substitutions allegedly made after they emerged victorious at their respective primaries.
One of those involved is Senator Gabriel Suswam of the APC, who instituted a suit against Senator Emmanuel Udende, the APC and INEC over the Benue North East Senatorial District ticket.
Suswam is challenging the APC’s decision to replace him with Udende as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election after he won the primary conducted on May 18, 2026.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo, has reserved judgment in the matter for October 12, 2026.
Meanwhile, the provisional list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship and state House of Assembly elections has also generated controversy.
Ten candidates listed by INEC for the Anambra State House of Assembly election have been disowned by the NDC, with the party insisting that it neither nominated the candidates nor submitted their Form EC9E documents.
The NDC Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Theophilus Agada, questioned how the commission obtained the credentials of the affected candidates when it was the responsibility of political parties to submit the names and particulars of their nominees.
Agada said, “The NDC did not collect or forward completed EC9E forms for the 10 persons whose names later appeared on INEC’s published list.”
However, INEC’s Director of Information and Voter Education, Victorian Eta Mesi, told The Nation that the names published in respect of Anambra were those uploaded by the political parties.
Oyo SDP aspirant sues party, INEC
Controversy has also trailed the emergence of Michael Okunlade as the Social Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State, with Chief Saheed Oladele suing the party and INEC over alleged violations of the Electoral Act.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Ibadan by Oladele’s counsel, Akinlolu Oyebamiji, is challenging the submission of Okunlade’s name to INEC as the SDP’s consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
In the originating summons, Oladele alleged that the substitution and nomination process breached statutory requirements and failed to comply with provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
He alleged that Okunlade, who is the Oyo State chairman of the SDP, did not obtain the required expression of interest and nomination forms before the expiration of the INEC deadline.
Oladele also claimed that he was the only governorship aspirant who obtained the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms before the deadline.
His counsel argued that the nomination process required strict compliance with statutory procedures, adding that Okunlade neither obtained a nomination form nor had Oladele executed any instrument of withdrawal or consent as required by law.
The plaintiff is asking the court to declare the nomination of Okunlade as the SDP consensus candidate in Oyo State null and void.
He is also seeking an order restraining Okunlade from presenting or parading himself as the SDP governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
Oladele further wants the court to restrain INEC and the national leadership of the SDP from recognising Okunlade as the party’s validly nominated candidate and to direct them to recognise him as the party’s candidate.
He is also asking the court to direct INEC to upload his name on its candidate portal for the 2027 election.
The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the application.
ADC unveils 28 governorship candidates
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress has released the names of its governorship candidates and running mates in the 28 states where governorship elections will be held in 2027.
The move came amid reports that the party would not field candidates in some of the states.
The candidates are: Abia, Akalu Kalu Agu; Adamawa, Modibbo Hammantukur Ribadu; Akwa Ibom, Akpanudoedehe John James; Bauchi, Haliru Dauda Jika; Benue, Herman Iorwase Hembe; Borno, BabaGana Buhari; Cross River, Nkoyo Toyo; Delta, Great Ogboru; Ebonyi, Ukpai Mba Udeh; Enugu, Ocho Obodoeze Chukwuma; Gombe, Bala Bello; Jigawa, Sabo Mohammed Nakudu; Kaduna, Isa Mohammed Ashiru; Kano, Ibrahim Ali Amin; Katsina, Ahmad Babba Kaita; Kebbi, Abubakar Malami; Kwara, Zakari Mohammed; Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour; Nasarawa, Nuhu Angbazo; Niger, Mohammed Kpautagi; Ogun, Biodun Collins Ogundipe; Oyo, Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke; Plateau, Johnj Sunday Sura; Rivers, Gabriel Pidomson; Sokoto, Manir Mohammed Daniya; Taraba, Abubakar Umar Tutare; Yobe, Kassim G. Gaidam; and Zamfara, Shinkafi Bilyaminu Yusuf.
The party also released the names of their respective running mates.
NDC dismisses claims it lacks candidates
The NDC has similarly dismissed reports that it failed to field candidates in some parts of the country ahead of the 2027 elections.
The party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC had candidates across the country, including those contesting Senate and House of Representatives seats.
Reacting to claims that the party had failed to field candidates in some states and local government areas, Director described the reports as false.
He said the party had complied with all requirements for fielding candidates and was represented in the 28 states where governorship elections would take place.
“We have candidates in the 28 states of the Federation where governorship elections will be taking place,” he said.
Director said the party initially chose not to respond to the allegations because it did not want to give prominence to what he described as propaganda.
He, however, said the NDC would publish a comprehensive list of its candidates to put the matter to rest.
The controversies surrounding candidate nominations come amid intensified political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, as political parties work to finalise their candidates and campaign structures.
For the state elections, candidates have until September 19 to withdraw their candidacy in writing, accompanied by a sworn affidavit, while political parties have until the same date to replace such candidates.
INEC is scheduled to release the final list of candidates for the governorship and state House of Assembly elections on October 20, 2026.