INEC Yet to Announce Date for Publication of Corrected Candidates’ List

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has yet to announce when it will publish an updated list of candidates for next year’s governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections, leaving affected politicians waiting for decisions on their appeals.

The electoral body omitted some candidates from its final list following the Supreme Court judgment of September 24, which upheld provisions of the Electoral Act 2026. It subsequently gave affected candidates until October 24 to submit objections through their political parties.

Those affected include Oladipupo Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Isa Ali Pantami of the PDP in Gombe State and Aminu Gwarzo of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kano State. They are awaiting INEC’s decision on their complaints to determine whether they will participate in next year’s governorship elections.

INEC’s Director of Information and Voter Education, Victoria Eta-Mesi, said yesterday that the commission was making the necessary corrections but had not settled on a publication date.

She explained that submissions from political parties and candidates, alongside relevant court orders, were being processed and would be published when the exercise was completed.

A senior source within the commission said INEC was examining the complaints individually and would assess each submission based on its merits and the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Constitution.

According to the source, candidates whose submissions satisfy the legal requirements would be included on the list, while those who fail to meet the requirements would not be cleared to participate in the elections. The source added that some of the affected candidates and political parties were still involved in court proceedings, noting that the commission would review and comply with the relevant judgments once delivered.

The development follows complaints from political parties and candidates whose names were excluded from the governorship and state Houses of Assembly lists.

While the National Assembly candidates’ list contained names of some candidates who may have breached provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Section 77, some candidates were left off the governorship and state assembly lists. The omissions prompted protests from the affected politicians and their parties.

INEC subsequently set October 24 as the deadline for submitting complaints for consideration. The All Progressives Congress (APC) also wrote to the commission, requesting that it implement the Supreme Court judgment.

The commission reiterated that corrections submitted by parties and candidates, together with relevant court orders, were being processed and would be published once ready.

Olawepo-Hashim’s name yet to be uploaded

Meanwhile, the name of Olawepo-Hashim had yet to appear on INEC’s website as Accord’s presidential candidate as of yesterday.

The reason for the delay remained unclear, despite INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, stating that the commission would comply with the court judgment and include Olawepo-Hashim as the 19th presidential candidate for the January 16 election.

However, reports indicated that the delay might be linked to an appeal filed by the party.

Accord National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbudem, confirmed that the party had appealed the judgment but declined to provide further details.