Candidates’ omission: We complied with Supreme Court judgment, says INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said it complied with the Supreme Court judgment in omitting some governorship candidates’ names from its final list.

It noted that the judgment upheld mandatory requirements for political parties to submit membership registers.

The commission, however, said parties that feel their candidates were wrongly omitted have until October 24 to formally notify it.

In a statement by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, the Commission clarified that it applied the apex court’s decision while finalising the governorship candidates’ list.

The statement confirms our Tuesday’s exclusive lead story on why INEC omitted Isa Ali Pantami, Gombe State People Democratic Party (PDP) candidate; Oladipupo Adebutu, Ogun State PDP candidate; Abdulsalam Gwarzo, Kano State Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate; and Danjuma La’ah, Kaduna NDC candidate.

The INEC statement via X reads: “The general public is aware of the recent decision of the Supreme Court in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026 delivered on 24th September, 2026.

“The decision arose from INEC’s appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 requiring the submission of membership registers as a prerequisite for the conduct of valid party primaries.

“However, the Supreme Court, in the aforementioned judgment, held that the provisions of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026 are constitutional and mandatory for all political parties.

“In particular, the Court upheld the constitutionality of Item No. 2 of INEC’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities, which mandated political parties to submit their membership registers between 21st April and 10th May, 2026.

“Furthermore, the Court held that failure to comply with the provisions of Section 77 (5)-(7) renders the defaulting political parties ineligible to sponsor any candidate for the election.

“In accordance with Section 287(1) of the Constitution, the Commission, while finalising the list of candidates for the Governorship election, applied the above decision of the Supreme Court and excluded political parties that failed to comply with Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, in relation to fielding of candidates.

“Meanwhile, the final list of Presidential and National Assembly candidates had already been published on 12th September, 2026, 13 days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment.

“Under Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, political parties that believe their candidates were wrongly left off the list have 14 days from the date of publication to notify the Commission. The deadline is 24th October, 2026.

“The Commission assures the public of its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process.”

According to INEC, political parties that did not submit their membership registers within the April-May 2026 window are barred from fielding candidates in the governorship race.

The presidential and National Assembly lists, released before the Supreme Court ruling, were not affected in the same manner.

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