2027 Election: INEC Explains Why It Excluded Some Governorship Candidates Based on Supreme Court Ruling

ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified why some governorship candidates were missing from the newly released final list for the 2027 General Election.

According to a press statement released on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, and signed by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, the exclusions are a direct result of a recent landmark Supreme Court judgement enforcing strict compliance with membership register submissions.

The Supreme Court Ruling

The controversy stems from the apex court’s September 24, 2026, decision in the case of INEC v. Zenith Labour Party (Appeal No. SC/CV/495/2026).

The Supreme Court overturned an earlier Court of Appeal judgement, declaring that Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026, is fully constitutional and mandatory. The specific section requires all political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC before conducting primaries.

Furthermore, the apex court upheld Item No. 2 of INEC’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities, which had mandated parties to submit these registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026. The court ruled that any political party failing to comply with this window is automatically ineligible to sponsor candidates for the election.

Why Presidential Candidates Were Not Affected

In its clarification, INEC noted a distinct timeline difference between the various elective positions.

While governorship candidates who defaulted were barred, the final list for Presidential and National Assembly candidates had already been published on September 12, 2026—thirteen days before the Supreme Court delivered its final verdict.

However, INEC notes that affected candidates can still contest the decision made by the commission, emphasizing that the strict deadline for submitting the notifications is October 24, 2026.

“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 statement read.

The electoral body maintained that it remains unwavering in its commitment to transparency, the rule of law, and credibility of Nigeria’s upcoming electoral process.