…Electoral body blames parties for missing membership register deadline, says exclusion follows Supreme Court verdict
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why several prominent politicians, including Isa Pantami and Ladi Adebutu, were omitted from the final list of candidates for the 2027 governorship elections. INEC said the affected political parties failed to submit their membership registers within the time stipulated by law, a lapse now affirmed by a Supreme Court judgment.
Pantami, who emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Gombe State after a court-ordered rerun primary, and Adebutu, the PDP candidate in Ogun State and his running mate, were among those excluded from the final list.The omissions sparked backlash, with the Ogun PDP alleging that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) influenced the commission. Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, also urged INEC to protect its independence and neutrality.
But INEC insisted the decision was strictly legal and not political.In a statement on Tuesday, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, cited a Supreme Court judgment delivered on September 24, 2026, in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026.
According to Haruna, the apex court upheld the validity of Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act 2026, which makes submission of membership registers mandatory. He said the ruling established that parties that failed to comply could not field candidates in the affected election.INEC said it was legally bound to implement the verdict in preparing the governorship list, referencing Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which mandates all authorities to enforce decisions of superior courts.
The commission also clarified that the final lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates were published on September 12, 2026 — before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment.INEC however said affected parties still have a window for redress under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which allows parties 14 days to notify the commission if they believe their candidates were wrongly excluded.
It fixed October 24, 2026, as deadline for such notifications.The commission urged political parties to follow due legal process and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, rule of law and credible elections ahead of the 2027 polls.
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