The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has excluded several governorship aspirants, including Oladipupo Adebutu of Ogun State and former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami of Gombe State, from its final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship elections.
The development follows controversies surrounding the nomination processes of some political parties, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and questions over compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
The final lists, published on Saturday, October 10, 2026, and signed by INEC Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony, contain 13 governorship candidates in Ogun State and 16 in Gombe State. However, neither list includes a PDP governorship candidate.
In Ogun State, Adebutu and his running mate were omitted, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, was included alongside his running mate, Kudirat Balogun.
Similarly, Pantami, who emerged from a fresh PDP governorship primary in Gombe State, was absent from the final list, which included APC candidate Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna and his running mate, Balah Adams.
The omissions have attracted attention following a Supreme Court judgment concerning provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 regulating participation in political party primaries.
The judgment restored statutory requirements restricting participation in party primaries to members whose names appear in membership registers submitted to INEC within the prescribed period.
The decision has raised questions about the validity of nominations conducted without compliance with the relevant membership registration requirements.
In Adebutu’s case, concerns had been raised over allegations that his name was missing from the PDP membership register submitted to the electoral commission.
However, the Ogun State chapter of the PDP rejected the allegations, maintaining that Adebutu was a duly registered member and that the party had complied with the applicable legal requirements.
Although the timing of the exclusions coincides with the Supreme Court judgment and disputes over party membership registers, INEC’s published candidate lists did not expressly state the individual reasons for omitting Adebutu, Pantami and their running mates.
It would therefore be premature to attribute every omission conclusively to the judgment without further clarification from the commission.
Meanwhile, the final list includes several prominent political figures contesting governorship elections across the country.
Among those listed are Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat as the APC candidate in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, and Kingsley Chinda as the APC candidate in Rivers State.
Incumbent governors seeking re-election also feature on the lists, including Uba Sani of Kaduna State, Dikko Radda of Katsina State, Umar Namadi of Jigawa State and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State.
The publication of the final candidates’ lists represents an important stage in preparations for the 2027 elections, with affected political parties and aspirants facing questions about their nominations and possible legal remedies.
The development also underscores the importance of strict compliance with electoral laws, particularly provisions governing political party membership, candidate eligibility and the conduct of primary elections.
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