INEC reviews petitions, clears Pantami, rejects Adebutu’s complaint over 2027 election list

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the inclusion of some candidates and political parties in its final lists for the 2027 general election following a review of petitions received from candidates and their political parties.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Mohammed Haruna, INEC said it received 69 petitions from 12 political parties across 26 states concerning the governorship election. While 41 petitions succeeded, the remaining 28 were rejected for failing on their merits, INEC said.

For the State Houses of Assembly elections, INEC said it received 61 petitions from 11 political parties across 11 states. Of these, 25 succeeded, while 36 were rejected.

The decisions followed complaints by political parties and candidates after INEC published its final lists of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates on 10 October. The commission said it reviewed the complaints alongside relevant records and applicable legal provisions before reaching its decisions.

Mr Haruna said the commission approved the inclusion of candidates and political parties where complaints were found to have merit. It also removed candidates whose names were wrongly published or whose nominations failed to meet the applicable legal requirements.

“The complaints concerned the omission of certain political parties, the wrongful inclusion of candidates of political parties whose names were not contained in the membership registers submitted by their political parties, and instances of alleged multiple nominations,” the statement reads in part.

“Following a review of the complaints, relevant records and applicable legal provisions, the Commission found merit in some representations and approved the inclusion of affected candidates and their political parties, while complaints found to be without merit were declined. In addition, some names that were wrongfully published in the final list were removed after verifying that their names were not on the register.”

INEC spokesperson, Mr Haruna, told TheCable that Isa Pantami’s petition was successful, while Ladi Adebutu’s request for a review of his exclusion was rejected.

Mr Haruna, however, said Mr Pantami’s inclusion was subject to the outcome of a pending court case.

“Those ones that I can tell you immediately. That of Kano in NNPP was successful; Pantami was successful, but you know that there are pending cases and it depends on the outcomes of the court cases, but Ladi Adebutu did not succeed this phase,” Mr Haruna told TheCable.

Mr Pantami, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, is the PDP governorship candidate in Gombe State, while Mr Adebutu is the party’s candidate in Ogun State. Both politicians were excluded when INEC published its final list of governorship candidates, leaving the PDP without a candidate in the two states.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the exclusions followed a Supreme Court judgment delivered on 24 September, which restored Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026.

The provisions require political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC within the stipulated period and restrict participation in party primaries to members whose names appear on the submitted registers.

The Supreme Court also upheld INEC’s timetable requiring political parties to submit their membership registers between 21 April and 10 May 2026.

Under Section 77(7), political parties that fail to submit their membership registers within the prescribed period are ineligible to field candidates in elections.

INEC commission said the review also covered complaints involving the wrongful inclusion of candidates whose names were absent from the membership registers submitted by their parties, alleged multiple nominations and the omission of some political parties.

The commission said some candidates who were wrongly included in the original lists had been removed after verification.

It added that decisions concerning State Houses of Assembly candidates were based on specific complaints and determined in accordance with the law and its established criteria.

The commission said the affected candidates, political parties and states would be reflected in an updated version of the lists on its website.

The 2027 governorship elections are scheduled for 6 February, while the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on 16 January.