The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will not respond to media reports concerning the omission of some political parties’ candidates from its final lists for the 2027 general elections, insisting that affected parties must submit formal complaints.
The development follows protests by several political parties, including the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), over the absence of some of their governorship candidates from the published lists.
The NDC said it was engaging with INEC to resolve the discrepancies and intended to explore the 14-day window provided under the Electoral Act 2026 for correcting identified errors.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Director, said the party was pursuing available legal and constitutional options to ensure its candidates were recognised.
However, the SDP said it had begun legal proceedings over the omission of its Benue State governorship candidate, Professor Sebastine Hon. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Abiyegba, disclosed that an affidavit had been prepared and served on the commission.
Other affected candidates include the PDP’s governorship nominees in Oyo and Gombe states, as well as the ADC’s candidate in Cross River State.
In Kano State, the NDC’s governorship candidate, Aminu Abdulsalam Gwarzo, and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso, were also missing from the published list. The party attributed the omission to an alleged error in entering candidates’ details.
Meanwhile, the NDC’s Cross River governorship candidate, John Upan Odey Jr, described his exclusion as a bureaucratic error, while the PDP said it was engaging the commission to resolve the cases involving its candidates.
The SDP’s Benue governorship candidate, Hon, also expressed optimism that the omission would be corrected through the appropriate process.
The disputes followed INEC’s release of the final lists of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Affected parties are now pursuing negotiations and legal remedies to secure the inclusion of their nominees, while the commission maintains that formal complaints are necessary to address the reported omissions.
