The governorship bids of Peoples Democratic Party candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and his Nigeria Democratic Congress counterpart in Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo, have been thrown into uncertainty after the Independent National Electoral Commission rejected their petitions challenging the final candidates’ lists for the 2027 elections.
In contrast, former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, has received INEC’s clearance to contest the Gombe State governorship election on the platform of the PDP.
An INEC source, who spoke to The PUNCH on Thursday night on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment on the matter, confirmed that Adebutu and Gwarzo were affected by the commission’s review of complaints concerning the final lists of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates.
The source explained that Adebutu’s name was excluded because the PDP did not feature him in the list of candidates initially submitted to the commission.
“His petition was rejected because his name was not included in the list of candidates originally submitted to INEC by the PDP,” the source said.
Regarding Gwarzo, the source disclosed that the Kano State Deputy Governor would have been cleared but for an interim court order restraining INEC from publishing his name.
He added that the final status of Gwarzo’s candidacy would depend on the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings.
He would have scaled through, but unfortunately, there was an ex parte order from the Federal High Court barring INEC from publishing his name. That was the reason he was not cleared,” the source added.
The source further disclosed that INEC planned to release a revised list of candidates on Friday (today).
The commission had initially uploaded the names of candidates for the presidential, National Assembly, governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections on its website on October 10, 2026.
However, Adebutu, Pantami, Gwarzo and several other candidates were absent from the published list, prompting complaints and petitions from affected parties.
In a statement released on Thursday night, the Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, announced that the commission had approved 66 petitions while dismissing 64 others relating to the governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
The complaints arose after the publication of the final candidates’ lists and involved issues such as the exclusion of political parties, the nomination of individuals whose names were missing from their parties’ membership registers and alleged multiple nominations.
Haruna said the commission examined the complaints alongside relevant documents and legal provisions before deciding on each case.
He said, “Following a review of the complaints, relevant records and applicable legal provisions, the commission found merit in some representations and approved the inclusion of affected candidates and their political parties, while complaints found to be without merit were declined.”
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The electoral body also confirmed that some candidates had been removed from the list after investigations established that their names were not contained in the membership registers submitted by their political parties.
“The commission also approved the removal of candidates whose nominations were found to be inconsistent with the applicable legal requirements,” the statement said.
INEC disclosed that it received 69 petitions from 12 political parties across 26 states concerning governorship candidates. Of the total, 41 were upheld, while 28 were dismissed.
For the State Houses of Assembly elections, the commission received 61 petitions from 11 political parties across 11 states. It approved 25 and rejected the remaining 36.
The commission noted that decisions on the legislative elections were reached based on the individual complaints received and assessed under the relevant laws and established guidelines.
It added that the names of affected candidates, political parties and states would feature in the revised list scheduled for publication on its website.
INEC reaffirmed its commitment to conducting transparent elections and maintaining electoral credibility, insisting that all petitions were assessed using relevant records and applicable legal provisions.
The latest announcement follows an earlier statement by the commission on October 13, 2026, addressing complaints over omissions from the final lists of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates.
At the time, INEC attributed the exclusions to alleged violations of the Electoral Act, 2026, particularly the requirement for political parties to submit their membership registers.
The commission said its position was based on a September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment, which upheld the constitutionality of Section 77(5) to (7) of the Electoral Act, making the submission of party membership registers compulsory.