The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained that it omitted some candidates from the final list for the 2027 governorship elections because their political parties failed to submit membership registers as required by law.

The clarification comes amid reactions from affected parties and candidates following the publication of the final list, which excluded prominent aspirants, including the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship candidates in Gombe and Ogun states, Isa Pantami and Ladi Adebutu, respectively.

Pantami’s omission came after he won a court-ordered rerun of the PDP governorship primary in Gombe, while Adebutu’s name and that of his running mate were also missing from the list. The Ogun PDP subsequently accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of mounting pressure on INEC, while human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong called on the commission to demonstrate its impartiality.

In a statement on Tuesday signed by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC said the omissions followed the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026, judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, which upheld the constitutionality of Section 77(5)–(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

The provisions require political parties to submit their membership registers to the commission within the stipulated period. The court also upheld INEC’s timetable requiring parties to submit the registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.

According to the commission, the Supreme Court held that parties that failed to comply with the requirements were ineligible to sponsor candidates in the elections.

INEC said it applied the judgment in finalising the governorship candidates’ list in accordance with Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The commission noted that the final lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates had been published on September 12, 2026, 13 days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment.

It added that, under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the commission.

INEC fixed October 24, 2026, as the deadline for such notifications.

The commission reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.

The Accord Party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has dismissed suggestions that Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu would influence the state’s voters in the presidential election.

Olawepo-Hashim spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, following the announcement of Adeleke, the Accord Party’s only elected governor, as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.

He rejected the suggestion that Adeleke’s position as the party’s only elected governor made him its national leader.

“He (Adeleke) can’t be the leader, he is a governor that was a beneficiary of office. When you have a party, you have the executive, the executive leaders of the party are the leaders of the party,” Olawepo-Hashim said.

Adeleke won re-election for a second term as Osun State governor in August and has reiterated his support for Tinubu’s re-election. However, Olawepo-Hashim argued that the governor could not dictate how the people of the state would vote in the presidential election.

“The fact that he won his election as governor, Governor Adeleke cannot compel the people of Osun State to vote for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Osun people let me repeat are incredibly honourable people, what we call Omoluabi in Yoruba parlance, they are ideological, they have great history, they are not conquered people, they do what they believe.

“So, I still believe that regardless of what Governor Adeleke is doing, Osun people are still going to vote for Accord Party at the presidential election. I can bet on that by the grace of God.”

The Accord Party candidate described the 2027 election as unusual, claiming that many Nigerians had already decided against voting for the APC and Tinubu.

He accused the Tinubu-led government of mismanaging the economy, undermining national unity and worsening insecurity. He also accused the administration of showing little compassion for ordinary Nigerians, whom he said were living in abject poverty.

Olawepo-Hashim maintained that the election would be determined by the performance of the Tinubu administration rather than the individual candidates.

He also expressed confidence in his chances, claiming that Tinubu would not secure 20 per cent of the votes if the election were held today.

Social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, or VDM, VeryDarkMan, has warned the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, that Nigerians could rise against him if he attempts to influence the outcome of the 2027 general elections.

VeryDarkMan, in a recent video shared on Instagram, was reacting to Wike’s declaration that President Bola Tinubu would emerge victorious in the 2027 presidential election regardless of the outcome of the votes.

Reacting, VDM said, “In summary of what Wike is saying, the election will be rigged in favour of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, regardless of how the votes come out. Tinubu is just definitely going to emerge as the winner.

“You see such impunity only started during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s regime because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu enabled intoxicated, power-intoxicated fools like Wike to talk anyhow to the Nigerian people.

“Let’s use the case of Sim Fubara and Wike. A sitting governor in Nigeria was suspended not because he was caught embezzling funds or maybe his people complained that our governor is not doing anything, but he was suspended because he had issues with his predecessor.

“Wike, you feel you are God over the people? Wike, you need to calm down because this is just a reminder that the people are bigger than you.

“Even this 2027, there is a way you will make this move, the people go para, dem go stand say e no go work, and by that time you are going to be exhausted.

“You have to be careful, Nyesom Wike. You have to be careful. This is a message to you.”