INEC reinstatement has boosted my support base – Benue SDP candidate

Prof. Sebastine Hon (SAN), the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Benue, said his reinstatement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has strengthened his political support ahead of the 2027 elections.

Hon made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Makurdi.

The governorship candidate said the initial omission of his name and that of his running mate, Mrs Margaret Oga, from INEC’s list of candidates had generated concerns among his supporters.

NAN reports that INEC had published its list of candidates on Oct. 10, with the names of Hon and Ogya missing as the SDP governorship and deputy governorship candidates in Benue.

While recounting the circumstances surrounding the omission and subsequent reinstatement of their names, Hon said that the situation turned out to be a ”blessing in disguise”.

According to him, INEC initially described the omission as a mistake before later admitting that it was an error.

He said the SDP formally wrote to the commission on Oct. 14 to challenge the omission.

“My supporters first thought that the omission was an attempt to get me out of the race. This has attracted more support to my political ambition, with some stakeholders joining my camp from other political parties,” he said.

The SDP candidate also described the reinstatement as the fulfilment of a pastor's prophecy, who had reportedly predicted that his name would be omitted from the list but later restored.

“What happened to me is a blessing and fulfilment of a prophecy,” he said.

NAN reports that INEC on Oct. 29 announced it had reinstated 66 governorship and state House of Assembly candidates after reviewing the final list for the 2027 general election.

INEC National Commission and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mohammed Haruna, in a statement, said the commission received complaints bordering on omission of political parties, wrongful inclusion of candidates whose names were not in the membership registers submitted by their parties, and alleged multiple nominations.

He explained that after reviewing the complaints against relevant records and legal provisions, it found merit in some petitions and approved the inclusion of the affected candidates and parties, while declining others for lack of merit.

Haruna confirmed that some names wrongfully published in the final list have been removed after verification showed they were not on their party registers, while other candidates were removed for non-compliance with legal requirements for nomination.

Giving a breakdown, he revealed that a total of 69 petitions were received from 12 political parties across 26 states in respect of the governorship election, out of which 41 succeeded and 28 failed.