Today’s Headlines: Why INEC Omitted Pantami, Others From Final List, Tinubu Has Done Well-Wike

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted several high-profile governorship candidates from its final list for the February 2027 elections, including Ladi Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State and former Communications Minister Isa Pantami of the PDP in Gombe State. Other exclusions include the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in Kano, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo. The lists, published over the weekend and signed by INEC Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony, contain candidates from various parties but show no PDP nominee in Ogun or Gombe.

The omissions are widely linked to a Supreme Court ruling on 24 September 2026 that restored key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026. These require that only individuals whose names appear on a political party’s membership register, submitted to INEC within the prescribed period, may participate in primaries or be nominated as candidates. Pantami’s case was further complicated by a Federal High Court order in Gombe that nullified his earlier primary victory and mandated a fresh one, which he won on 29 September; Adebutu’s exclusion centres on questions over whether his name was properly included in the PDP’s submitted register.

Affected parties and candidates have responded by urging supporters to remain calm while engaging INEC to resolve the issues. The PDP has stated it is already in discussions with the commission to secure an amicable solution in line with the law, and Adebutu has publicly affirmed his continued membership of the party and commitment to due process. The developments leave the PDP without candidates in those states for now, while other parties’ nominees, including the APC’s, remain on the published lists.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused opposition parties of prioritising their ambition to take over power over acknowledging President Bola Tinubu’s performance in office.

Speaking on Tuesday, October 13, during his monthly media chat, Wike argued that political opponents should be willing to recognise the president’s achievements regardless of their party affiliations.

“For us, and whether anybody likes or not, we think Mr. President has done well,” Wike said.

“It’s just that opposition wants to take over power,” he added.

“You see, when you say a new thing that never happened, I don’t think so, but may not have come out too formally,” he said.

The Sokoto State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has challenged the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Manir Dan Iya, to account for the performance of former Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s eight-year administration, in which he served as deputy governor.

The challenge followed Dan Iya’s call on the Sokoto State Government to disclose the total revenue it had received from the Federation Account since 2023.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Director-General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Sokoto, Abubakar Bawa, described the demand as unnecessary, arguing that information on federal allocations to states was already available through official channels.

Bawa said Dan’iya should instead explain the achievements of the previous administration and what it intended to offer the people of Sokoto if given another opportunity to govern the state.

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, has urged presidential candidates in the 2027 general election to publicly declare their positions on petroleum pricing, describing fuel costs as a potentially decisive issue for voters.

Agbakoba made the call in a statement he personally signed in Lagos on Tuesday.

The statement, titled *“Statement to the Presidential Candidates on Petroleum Pricing and the Cost of Living,”* said the rising cost of living had reached a critical point and would be a defining issue in the 2027 elections.

Agbakoba noted that the removal of petrol subsidies in 2023 had left pump prices influenced by refinery costs and the landing costs of imported petroleum products rather than fixed government prices.

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