Several prominent Nigerian politicians and candidates have been omitted from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) final published lists for the 2027 general elections.
The affected politicians include Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and PDP governorship candidate in Gombe State, Professor Isa Ali Pantami; PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi (Oladipupo) Adebutu; Adebutu’s running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo; former Kano State deputy governor and NDC governorship candidate, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo; Gwarzo’s running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso; Accord Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Olaniyi Agbongboakala; former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan; senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko; former Ogun State governor and senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel; former Gombe State governor and senator representing Gombe Central, Danjuma Goje; senator representing Kebbi South, Garba Maidoki; senator representing Bauchi South and reported PRP governorship candidate, Shehu Buba; former House of Representatives member for Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency in Bauchi State, Mansur Soro; NDC governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Danjuma Tella La’ah; SDP governorship candidate in Benue State, Professor Sebastine Hon; Accord Party governorship candidate in Nasarawa State, Shuaibu Kubi; Action Alliance candidate in Rivers State, Eke Israel; Action Alliance candidate in Oyo State, Titilola-Sodo Dayo; Action Alliance candidate in Nasarawa State, Abdullah-Bukharin; Action Alliance candidate in Bauchi State, Zubairu Musa; ADC deputy governorship candidate in Jigawa State, Aminu Ringim; African Action Congress governorship candidate in Kwara State, Duwatsu Musa; APC primary winner for Lagos State House of Assembly, Agege Constituency I, Ganiyu Egunjobi; APC primary winner for Agege Constituency II, Azeez Ninalowo; Lagos State House of Assembly Majority Leader and APC primary winner for Eti-Osa Constituency I, Noheem Adams; reported SDP candidate in Oyo State, Mogaji Agboola; and SDP candidate in Oyo State who was replaced, Michael Okunlade.
According to reports published by Punch on October 12, 2026, the omissions have affected governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and state assembly candidates across several states.
In Gombe State, Pantami, who emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate after a fresh primary election on September 29, was absent from INEC’s final list. The omission came after an earlier primary was nullified by the Federal High Court over procedural irregularities.
In Ogun State, Adebutu was also missing from the list of governorship candidates alongside his running mate. Adebutu maintained that he remained a registered PDP member and that the party had submitted the required documents within the stipulated period.
The PDP said it was engaging INEC to resolve the omissions affecting its candidates in Ogun and Gombe states.
In Kano State, former Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso, were also absent from the published governorship list. The party attributed the development to a possible administrative error and said it would engage the electoral commission.
Other governorship candidates reported missing include former senator Danjuma Tella La’ah of the NDC in Kaduna State, Professor Sebastine Hon of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Benue State, and Shuaibu Kubi of the Accord Party in Nasarawa State.
The Action Alliance also identified several of its candidates whose names were missing from the list. They include Eke Israel in Rivers State, Titilola-Sodo Dayo in Oyo State, Abdullah-Bukharin in Nasarawa State and Zubairu Musa in Bauchi State.
In Jigawa State, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) protested the omission of its endorsed deputy governorship candidate, Aminu Ringim, alongside about seven other candidates. The party said it would continue engaging INEC through the appropriate channels.
In Kwara State, the African Action Congress governorship candidate, Duwatsu Musa, was excluded because he had not attained the constitutionally required minimum age of 35 for a governorship candidate at the relevant time.
The controversy has also affected legislative candidates in several states. In Lagos State, Ganiyu Egunjobi and Azeez Ninalowo, who reportedly won the All Progressives Congress primaries for Agege Constituencies I and II, were dropped from the party’s final tickets and later defected to the Allied Peoples Movement.
Noheem Adams, the Lagos State House of Assembly Majority Leader, was also reportedly replaced on the APC ticket for Eti-Osa Constituency I by Saheed Bankole, despite Adams having won the party primary.
In Oyo State, SDP candidate Mogaji Agboola was omitted following the reported replacement of the party’s earlier candidate, Michael Okunlade. The NDC also raised concerns over missing candidates in Borno State, particularly those contesting seats in the state House of Assembly.
Meanwhile, reports published in August identified other prominent politicians whose names were absent from the relevant lists. They included former President Goodluck Jonathan, Senator Ned Nwoko of Delta North, former Gombe State Governor Danjuma Goje, former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel and Senator Garba Maidoki of Kebbi South.
Senator Shehu Buba of Bauchi South and House of Representatives member Mansur Soro, who represented Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency in Bauchi State, were also reported missing from the legislative list. However, reports indicated that Buba had secured the PRP governorship ticket, while Soro had announced that he would not seek another legislative term.
The circumstances surrounding the different cases vary. While some political parties have blamed administrative or technical errors, others are dealing with disputes over party primaries, candidate replacements and eligibility requirements.
INEC had not publicly confirmed that all the reported omissions resulted from administrative errors.
The affected parties and candidates have called for clarification and, in some cases, threatened legal action to secure the inclusion of their nominees.
