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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given political parties until October 24 to report cases of candidates allegedly omitted from the final list for the 2027 governorship elections.
The deadline follows a Supreme Court ruling that political parties which failed to submit their membership registers within the prescribed period are ineligible to sponsor candidates for elections.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, explaining that the commission applied the court’s decision when preparing the final list of governorship candidates.
“The Commission, while finalising the list of candidates for the Governorship election, applied the above decision of the Supreme Court and excluded political parties that failed to comply with Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, in relation to fielding of candidates,” Haruna said.
The Supreme Court delivered its judgment on September 24 in the case of INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026.
The ruling overturned a Court of Appeal decision that had nullified provisions of the Electoral Act requiring political parties to submit their membership registers before conducting valid primaries.
The apex court held that the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) were constitutional and mandatory for all political parties.
It also upheld INEC’s timetable requiring parties to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
According to INEC, failure to comply with the provisions renders a political party ineligible to sponsor candidates for the election.
Haruna said the commission acted in line with Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which requires compliance with court decisions.
The commission noted that the final list of presidential and National Assembly candidates had already been published on September 12, before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on September 24.
Haruna said Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, allows political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted from a published list to notify INEC within 14 days of publication.
“The deadline is 24th October, 2026,” the statement said, adding that the commission remained committed to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.
