. Pantami scales hurdle, Kano NDC’s Gwarzo’s fate hangs in the balance
The fate of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, may have been finally sealed by the Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday in Abuja.
But that of the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate in Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo, is left hanging in the balance
Adebutu and Gwarzo’s petitions were among the 64 rejected by the electoral umpire on Thursday.
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and Gombe State PDP governorship candidate, Isa Ali Pantami, was, however, lucky as he was cleared by INEC for the 2027 election.
Sources privy to INEC’s Thursday meeting said while Adebutu may have lost out finally, Gwarzo’s candidacy remained uncertain following the electoral umpire’s review of complaints over the final lists of candidates for the 2027 governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
The source confirmed that Pantami had been cleared to contest in Gombe State.
But regarding Adebutu, the source said his case was thrown out by the electoral umpire because his party, the PDP did not include his among the list of its candidates submitted to INEC.
“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.
Concerning Gwarzo, it was gathered that the former Kano deputy governor would have made the list but for an ex parte order issued by the Federal High Court barring INEC from publishing his name.
Gwarzo’s clearance, the source said, remained subject to the outcome of the court case over his candidacy.
“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,” said the source.
It was further gathered that INEC would publish the updated list of candidates for the elections by Friday (today).
Recall that INEC had, on October 10, 2026, published the names of presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates on its website.
But Adebutu, Pantami, Gwarzo, among others were missing from the published list.
Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said in a statement on Thursday night that the electoral umpire upheld 66 petitions challenging the final lists of governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections while rejecting 64 others.
The petitions followed the publication of the final lists of candidates on October 10, 2026, with complaints on the omission of political parties, the inclusion of candidates whose names were absent from their parties’ membership registers and alleged multiple nominations.
Haruna stated INEC reviewed the complaints, relevant records and applicable legal provisions before taking decisions on the candidates.
His statement partly read, “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.”
The INEC national commissioner further stated that the electoral umpire had deleted some candidates whose names were wrongfully published after verifying that they were not listed 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 added.
INEC disclosed that 69 petitions were received from 12 political parties across 26 states concerning the governorship election. While 41 of these were successful, 28 others were rejected.
For the state Houses of Assembly elections, the commission received 61 petitions from 11 political parties across 11 states. Twenty-five petitions were upheld, while 36 were unsuccessful.
INEC explained that its decisions on state Houses of Assembly candidates were based on specific complaints received and determined in accordance with the law and its established criteria.
The electoral umpire further said the affected candidates, political parties and states would be reflected in an updated list to be published on its website.
INEC reiterated its commitment to transparency and electoral credibility, while assuring Nigerians that complaints were considered based on relevant records and applicable legal provisions.
The latest development follows an earlier statement issued by INEC on October 13, 2026, concerning complaints arising from the publication of the final lists of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates.
It had explained that the candidates’ omissions were due to non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, requiring parties to submit their membership registers.
INEC insisted that its position followed a September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment affirming the constitutionality of Section 77(5) to (7) of the Electoral Act, which makes the submission of membership registers by all the political parties compulsory.
