Final list of 2027 candidates already published – INEC
…says only parties that failed to submit membership registers are affected by S’Court judgment
…Saliu Mustapha, Kolo Jiya, other Kwara Rainbow Coalition candidates to be on ballot
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has already published the final list of presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general election, dismissing any expectation of a fresh list following a recent Supreme Court judgment.
The commission said the list was published on September 12, 2026, 13 days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the submission of political parties’ membership registers.
INEC made the clarification in a press release issued on Tuesday, following questions over the omission of some candidates from the final list for the 2027 governorship elections.
The statement was signed by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee.
The commission said the Supreme Court, in its September 24 judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026, upheld the constitutionality of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires political parties to submit their membership registers as a prerequisite for conducting valid primaries.
According to INEC, the court held that political parties that failed to comply with the requirement were ineligible to sponsor candidates in the elections.
The commission said it applied the judgment when finalising the list of governorship candidates, excluding parties that failed to meet the membership register submission requirements.
However, INEC said political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted from the list have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the commission, in line with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
It fixed October 24, 2026, as the deadline for such notifications.
PDP not affected.. Saliu Mustapha, Kolo Jiya make final list
In Kwara State, Senator Saliu Mustapha and Dr Kolo Baba Jiya, both of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have been listed for the 2027 National Assembly elections, contesting the Kwara Central and Kwara North senatorial seats, respectively.
Mustapha, who defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP after failing to secure the APC governorship ticket, is challenging Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for the Kwara Central Senate seat.
He has also unveiled the Otoge Progressives Rainbow Coalition, a political alliance aimed at mobilising support ahead of the 2027 elections. Mustapha has maintained that his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid remains unchanged despite his defection from the APC.
The final list of Kwara governorship candidates also features 12 candidates, including Yakubu Danladi Salihu of the APC and Kawu Sulaiman Bolakale of the PDP.
