The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved 66 petitions seeking the inclusion of candidates in the final lists for the 2027 governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
The commission approved 41 of the 69 petitions relating to governorship elections and 25 of the 61 complaints concerning state assembly polls.
INEC Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, saying the commission received the complaints after publishing the final lists of candidates on October 10, 2026.
The petitions, submitted by 12 political parties across 26 states for governorship elections and 11 parties across 11 states for assembly elections, centred on alleged omissions, wrongful inclusion of candidates and multiple nominations.
Haruna said the commission reviewed the complaints alongside relevant records and applicable legal provisions before reaching its decisions.
“Following review of complaints, relevant records and applicable legal provisions, the Commission found merit in some representations and approved inclusion of affected candidates and their political parties, while complaints found to be without merit were declined,” he said.
He added that some candidates whose names were wrongly published had also been removed after the Commission established that they were not listed in the membership registers submitted by their parties.
INEC also approved the removal of candidates whose nominations failed to meet legal requirements.
“The affected candidates, political parties and states will be reflected in updated list on Commission’s website,” Haruna said.
The controversy followed the omission of several prominent politicians from the final governorship lists, including former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami; Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu; and Senator Danjuma Laah.
Others affected included Abdulsalam Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Kano State, and the Social Democratic Party's governorship nominee in Benue State, Sebastine Hon.
INEC had earlier defended the exclusions, citing a September 24 Supreme Court judgment in the case between the commission and Zenith Labour Party.
The commission said the apex court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act 2026, which makes the submission of party membership registers a mandatory requirement for valid primaries.
It maintained that political parties that failed to comply with the provision were ineligible to sponsor candidates.
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