INEC Upholds 66 Petitions on 2027 Governorship, Assembly Candidates
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved 66 petitions challenging the candidate lists for the 2027 governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, while rejecting 64 others.
The petitions were filed by political parties following the publication of the final lists of candidates on October 10, 2026, over alleged omissions, wrongful inclusion of candidates and multiple nominations.
In a breakdown of the decisions, INEC said 41 of the 69 petitions relating to governorship candidates were successful, while 28 were rejected. The complaints came from 12 political parties across 26 states.
For the State Houses of Assembly elections, 25 of the 61 petitions received from 11 political parties across 11 states were upheld, while 36 were dismissed.
The review resulted in the approval of some previously omitted candidates and political parties, as well as the removal of names found to have been wrongly included in the published lists. INEC also approved the removal of candidates whose nominations failed to meet the applicable legal requirements.
The Commission said its decisions were based on an examination of the complaints, relevant records and applicable laws.
The affected candidates, parties and states will be captured in an updated list to be published on INEC’s website.
The statement was signed by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, Chairman of the Commission’s Information and Voter Education Committee.
INEC reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and the credibility of the electoral process.
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