INEC Explains Exclusion Of Some Parties From 2027 Guber

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the exclusion of some political parties’ candidates from the final list for the 2027 governorship elections to their failure to submit membership registers as required by law.

The commission said the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutionality of the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, that makes compliance mandatory for all political parties seeking to sponsor candidates.

In a statement on Tuesday, INEC said it applied the Supreme Court’s judgment in finalising the list of governorship candidates for the elections.

The judgment, delivered on September 24, 2026, followed an appeal by INEC against a Court of Appeal decision that had nullified Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, which requires political parties to submit their membership registers before conducting valid primaries.

The apex court upheld the constitutionality of the provisions and affirmed INEC’s requirement that political parties submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.

INEC noted that parties that failed to meet the requirement were ineligible to sponsor candidates for the elections.

The commission stressed that its decision to exclude the affected parties was in compliance with the Supreme Court’s judgment and Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which requires authorities to give effect to judicial decisions.

INEC’s clarification comes amid complaints by political parties over the omission of some of their candidates from the final lists released by the commission.

On Sunday, the Peoples Democratic Party said it was engaging INEC to resolve the omission of some of its candidates from the lists.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress also raised concerns over the omission of its governorship candidates in Kano and Cross River states.

In Kano, the party’s Public Relations Officer, Yusif Fasaha, attributed the omission to a computer problem, saying INEC had assured the party that the issue would be corrected.

Similarly, the party’s Cross River chairman, Goddie Akpama, said the party had contacted relevant authorities and was assured that the omission of its governorship candidate would be resolved.

INEC said political parties that believed their candidates had been wrongly omitted could notify the commission within 14 days of publication of the relevant list, in line with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

It gave October 24, 2026, as the deadline for such notifications.