The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the final list of governorship candidates for the February 6, 2027 elections, clearing every incumbent seeking re-election but leaving out the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidates in Ogun and Gombe states. The lists, signed by the commission’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, went up on INEC’s website on Saturday, October 10. Their release settles, for now, who will be on the ballot in 28 states in less than four months.
The scale of the contest is considerable. INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, had earlier disclosed that 21 of the country’s 22 registered political parties nominated a total of 936 governorship and deputy governorship candidates across the 28 states. That amounts to roughly 468 tickets, an average of about 17 per state. The final lists show the number of parties on the ballot ranging from 13 in some states to 18 in others.
Lagos has one of the largest fields, with 17 candidates. Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat carries the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket, Adedeji Doherty is the PDP candidate and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, who ran on the Labour Party platform in 2023, is now the African Democratic Congress (ADC) flagbearer. Only two of the 17 are women, and the candidates’ ages range from 36 to 73.
Elsewhere, Oyo has 16 candidates, Gombe 16, Ogun 13 and Benue 12. In Abia, Governor Alex Otti, 61, is again the Labour Party candidate. In Kebbi, former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, 59, is the ADC candidate, while Katsina Governor Umaru Dikko Radda, 57, faces Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita of the ADC.
The most contentious part of the publication is who is missing. In Ogun, PDP candidate Ladi Adebutu, runner-up in the 2023 governorship election, and his running mate do not appear among the 13 names. Civil society groups had alleged that his name was absent from the PDP membership register submitted to INEC, a claim the party rejects.
The Ogun PDP publicity secretary, Kayode Adebayo, insisted that Adebutu registered as a member within the required period. He blamed the omission on “undue pressure” from the ruling party. INEC has not publicly explained the decision.
In Gombe, former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, is also absent. A Federal High Court in Gombe nullified his first emergence as PDP candidate in September and ordered a fresh primary, which he won on September 29. The Gombe list nonetheless carries 16 candidates, none from the PDP.
The omissions go beyond the PDP. The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in Kano, Aminu Gwarzo, is not on the list, while the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) candidate in Benue is also missing. The Cross River list does not include the ADC or the NDC. The PDP said it had begun engaging INEC to resolve the exclusion of its candidates.
For the PDP, the weekend’s development fits a troubling pattern from the 2026 off-cycle elections. Ahead of the June 20 Ekiti poll, INEC left PDP candidate Wole Oluyede off the final list after a Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti nullified the primary that produced him. In Osun, the party did not field a candidate in the August 8 election, which Governor Ademola Adeleke won on the platform of the Accord party.
The list also reflects how far the opposition map has shifted since 2023. In that cycle, 18 registered parties contested governorship elections in the same 28 states on March 18. This time there are 22 registered parties, and the ADC, which unveiled candidates in all 28 states in the run-up to the list, has emerged as a major platform for politicians who previously contested on other tickets.
The timetable now leaves little room for disputes to run their course. Parties held their primaries between April 23 and May 30, 2026, and governorship campaigns formally opened on September 9. The presidential and National Assembly elections are fixed for January 16, 2027, three weeks before the governorship and State House of Assembly polls.
Excluded candidates still have options. The Electoral Act provides a procedure through which parties can raise such matters with INEC, and courts have in the past ordered the commission to restore candidates’ names. Section 285 of the Constitution, however, requires pre-election suits to be filed within 14 days of the action complained of and decided within 180 days. Whether Adebutu, Pantami and others return to the ballot will depend on how quickly those processes move.