INEC’s Form EC9 Disclosure Puts 2027 Candidates’ Records On Public Trial
Nigeria’s electoral field for the 2027 presidential contest is now formally in public view. The Independent National Electoral Commission on Saturday published the personal particulars and academic credentials of 19 presidential candidates and their running mates, a statutory step that opens the door to public scrutiny of their records ahead of campaigns billed to begin on August 19, 2026.
The disclosure, contained in Form EC9, is required under Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2026, which obliges INEC to display candidates’ particulars within 21 days of receiving their nomination papers. The commission has stressed that what was released is not yet the final list. Under Section 31 of the same Act, political parties retain the right to withdraw or replace nominees until August 22, 2026, while the definitive list of candidates for the presidential and National Assembly elections will only be published on September 12, 2026, in line with the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities INEC released on February 26, 2026.
The field lines up President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, seeking re-election with Vice President Kashim Shettima again as running mate, against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, who has paired with former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi. Former Anambra State governor Peter Obi is flying the flag of the newly formed Nigeria Democratic Congress, with former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso as his deputy, an alliance that effectively merges two of the strongest challengers from the 2023 election onto a single ticket. The Peoples Democratic Party, once Nigeria’s dominant political machine, is fielding Senator Sandy Onor, while sixteen other parties, including the Labour Party, the New Nigeria Peoples Party, the Social Democratic Party and smaller platforms such as the Boot Party and Democratic Liberty Alliance, have also submitted candidates.
Notably absent from the list are former President Goodluck Jonathan, who had reportedly been floated by a faction of the PDP led by Tanimu Turaki, and Gbenga Olawepo Hashim, who had laid claim to the Accord Party’s ticket. The Accord Party itself confirmed it would not field a presidential candidate, saying none of its aspirants met the nomination deadline.
The number of candidates offers an early data point for comparison with Nigeria’s recent electoral history. Eighteen candidates contested the February 2023 presidential election, in which Tinubu defeated Atiku and Obi in a poll that recorded roughly 93.4 million registered voters but a turnout of only about 26.71 percent, one of the lowest in the country’s Fourth Republic. With 19 candidates now cleared to appear on the ballot for the January 16, 2027 election, the field is marginally larger than in 2023, even as the country continues to grapple with the low voter participation and credibility questions that shaped the last cycle.
The candidates’ educational records, released alongside their nomination details, span a wide range, from Tinubu’s 1979 Business Administration degree from Chicago State University in the United States, to Kwankwaso’s 1980 Higher Diploma in Civil Engineering from Kaduna Polytechnic, and Obi’s 1984 Philosophy degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. INEC has said the publication exercise is meant to let members of the public and political opponents scrutinise the credentials, affidavits and other documents parties submitted, with discrepancies in certificates, age declarations or nomination procedures typically drawing formal challenges in the weeks that follow such disclosures.
The commission’s Chief Press Secretary, Adedayo Oketola, reiterated that the exercise formed part of a broader compliance process rather than a conclusive candidates’ list, noting that the commission remained “on course with its preparations” for the general election. With the nomination portal having closed on July 14, 2026 after a brief extension, and campaigns set to formally open on August 19, attention now shifts to whether any of the 19 candidacies face legal or credential challenges before the September 12 deadline locks in the final ballot.