The political future of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, former Ogun State governorship candidate Oladipupo Adebutu, and Kano State governorship candidate Aminu Gwarzo has become uncertain following the expiration of the deadline for political parties to report discrepancies in the preliminary list of candidates for the 2027 elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed October 24 as the deadline for parties to submit complaints over discrepancies in the preliminary list, which was published on October 10.
The development comes amid disputes involving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), both of which have challenged the exclusion of their respective candidates, insisting that they complied with the requirements for nomination.
The controversy follows a September 24 Supreme Court judgment affirming the obligation of political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC within the prescribed period and use the registers for primaries and other internal electoral processes, in line with the Electoral Act 2026.
INEC reportedly relied on the judgment in preparing its final list of governorship candidates.
The PDP has maintained that its governorship candidates in Gombe and Ogun states fulfilled the necessary requirements.
The party has engaged the electoral commission over the omissions and is considering further legal action.
On October 15, the party filed an affidavit at the Federal High Court Registry in Abuja challenging the exclusion of Pantami and Adebutu and seeking their reinstatement on the candidates’ list.
Afolabi Orekoya, Director of Media for the Ladi Adebutu Campaign Organisation, said the necessary procedures had been completed, expressing optimism that Adebutu’s name would be included in an updated list.
Similarly, the Ogun State PDP Chairman, Abayomi Tella, described Adebutu’s omission as an error and expressed confidence that INEC would address the matter.
In Gombe State, an aide to Pantami said the former minister would pursue all available legal options.
According to the aide, Pantami’s legal team had already contacted INEC in an effort to resolve the dispute.
Pantami emerged as the PDP’s governorship candidate following a court-ordered rerun of the party’s primary on September 29.
His name had appeared on INEC’s provisional list published on August 29 but was missing from the final list released in October.
The NDC has also raised concerns over the exclusion of its Kano State governorship candidate, Gwarzo, and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The party said it had communicated with INEC regarding the omissions but had yet to receive a definitive response.
Amid the controversy, the National Association of Achievers Movement (NAAM) has called on INEC to explain the basis for excluding the three candidates.
The group also demanded clarification on the criteria used to determine which candidates were included in the final list, particularly where questions had reportedly been raised about aspects of their nomination processes.
NAAM said the electoral commission must demonstrate transparency, fairness and consistency in applying electoral laws across political parties.
It, however, clarified that its intervention was not an endorsement of the automatic reinstatement of the excluded candidates or a call for the disqualification of those already listed.
Rather, the association said it was seeking a clear explanation of the legal and factual grounds for INEC’s decisions, stressing that transparency was essential to public confidence in the electoral process.
