THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it would consider petitions filed by political parties over omission of their governorship candidates from final list and publish voters register online as demanded by presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar.
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Mohammed Haruna, stated this in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune.
Asked how many petitions were filed by parties that believe their governorship candidates were wrongly omitted before the October 24 deadline expired, Haruna said he needed to confirm from the legal department.
‘I would have to confirm that. I would have to speak to the legal department to find out how the total number of petitions. I know we have been receiving petitions right up to that deadline on Saturday,’ he said.
On whether the commission will meet on petitions Thursday, he said the final decision will be taken since deadline has passed.
‘Of course, we will have to take a final decision since we have received the petitions already. The deadline has passed. Anybody, who is sending a petition now is out of time,’ Haruna stated.
Responding to Atiku’s demand that the Commission should publish the voter register online in addition to physical display already done, Haruna said Atiku is right.
‘Yes, I think he is right. We will do that. We will have to publish it online. We will do that. Maybe, it is even online already,’ he said.
Asked if there is no particular deadline since Electoral Act provides for 90 days before election, Haruna said the law says not later than 90 days.
‘Not later than 90 days. That means we should have published it before now, but it is not too late. Because, you know, the final clean copy of the register itself, the one we will give each political party, I think it is in December. So, we can continue to clean it up up to that date. So, if there are any petitions, even from the online, of course, we will have to consider all those petitions. But, it is never too late until the final clean copy is printed,’ he explained.
When asked if the October 29 meeting will look at petitions, he said, the Commission will definitely consider them.
‘We definitely will consider it. I mean all the petitions, that is for candidates,’ Haruna said.
On whether the meeting is Thursday or another day, he said: ‘That is the first meeting after the deadline. Obviously, most likely, we will consider it.’
Background:
The petitions include those relating to omission of names of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami; Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate, Abdulsalam Gwarzo; his counterpart in Kaduna State, Senator Danjuma Laah; Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate nominee for Benue State, Sebastine Hon; governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and others.
INEC had defended omission of some candidates from final list for 2027 governorship election, citing recent judgment of Supreme Court.
In a statement signed on October 13, by Haruna, the commission said its action was in line with Supreme Court decision in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026 delivered on September 24, 2026.
According to commission, the court held that provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of Electoral Act, 2026 requiring submission of membership registers as prerequisite for valid party primaries are constitutional and mandatory, and failure to comply renders defaulting parties ineligible to sponsor any candidate.
INEC said the final list of Presidential and National Assembly candidates had already been published on September 12, 2026, thirteen days before Supreme Court judgment, adding that under Section 32(2) of Electoral Act, 2026, political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted have 14 days from date of publication to notify commission, with deadline set for October 24, 2026.
On October 10, 2026, the commission published the final list of 936 governorship/deputy governorship candidates and 9,692 state Houses of Assembly candidates, nominated by 21 political parties ahead of the 2027 general election.
However, the lists did not include three governorship candidates of PDP and NDC in Ogun, Gombe and Kano states, including PDP candidate in Ogun, Honourable Oladipupo Adebutu, PDP candidate in Gombe, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and NDC governorship candidate in Kano, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, had called for immediate publication of preliminary voter register, saying its absence during announced scrutiny period raises concerns about integrity of 2027 election.
Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku, had also faulted INEC over display of voter register, saying when parties or candidates miss electoral deadlines they risk exclusion and questioning why INEC should expect indulgence when it fails to meet its own legal obligations.
‘Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires physical display and online publication of the voters’ register for public scrutiny within the stipulated 90-day timeline. Physical display alone does not satisfy both requirements,’ Ibe said.