•INEC chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is expected to release the final list of candidates contesting the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, September 12, 2026.
Officials of the Commission are currently fine tuning the list, reports The Nation.
Section 32(1) of the 2026 Electoral Act stipulates that the final list of candidates for an election be released at least 60 days to Election Day.
The Commission had, last month, published the provisional list of 19 presidential candidates, their running mates and the particulars of each of them.
Released at the same time was the list of candidates for the election into the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The presidential and NASS elections are scheduled for the same day.
The window for substitution of candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly elections closed on Saturday, August 22, while the last day for the submission of nomination form (form EC 13A-E) closed on Saturday, August 29, 2026.
Publication of the candidates’ Form EC9 is a statutory requirement under Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates the commission to display the personal particulars of candidates after receiving their nomination forms.
On the provisional list of the presidential candidates were:
•Bola Tinubu – All Progressives Congress (APC)
•Atiku Abubakar – African Democratic Congress (ADC)
•Peter Obi – Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC)
•Senator Sandy Onor– Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
•Omoyele Sowore – African Action Congress (AAC)
•Donald Duke – Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)
•Okwori Ada Elizabeth Frederick – National Democratic Party (NDP)
•Chukwu Anita Zugwai – Young Progressives Party (YPP)
•Rufai Adekunle Omoaje – Action Alliance (AA)
•Adenuga Sunday – Boot Party
•Memeh Samuel – Democratic Liberty Alliance (DLA)
•Nwanyanwu Daniel Danerechukwu – Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)
•Okereke Sunday Chibuzor – Labour Party (LP)
•Okereke Iken Esther – National Rescue Movement (NRM)
•Abbas-Bin Aliyu – Action Democratic Party (ADP)
•Dikwa Suleiman Mohammed – New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)
•Adebayo Adewole Ebenezer – Social Democratic Party (SDP)
•Seyi Makinde – Allied Peoples Movement (APM)
•Yusuf Kabiru – Action Peoples Party (APP)
Vice-presidential candidates
•Kashim Shettima (APC)
•Rotimi Amaechi (ADC)
•Rabiu Kwankwaso (NDC)
•Shehu Hussaini (AA)
•Egbeola Olawale Mertins (YPP)
•Ike Chinazam (ADP)
•Mustapha Usman Turaki (Boot Party)
•Balogun Alex (DLA)
•Chikwuemeka Uchenna Anthony (NDP)
•Magashi Haruna Garba (AAC)
•Umaru Babangida (PDP)
•Konto Hajja Bintu (LP)
•Hassan Khalid (ZLP)
•Samuel Magdalene Gali (NRM)
•Abubakar Isah (NNPP)
•Buba Musa (PRP)
•Bugaje Usman Mohammed (SDP)
•Ibrahim Adamu Bala (APM)
•Ofordile Peace Egobia (APP)
It was gathered that the APC ,PDP and ADC will be presenting candidates for all the 469 National Assembly seats (109 in the Senate and 360 in the House of Representatives) while the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) will present candidates for the 109 Senatorial seats and 219 House of Representatives seats.
However, some aspirants are currently challenging their substitution by their party after allegedly winning the primaries.
They include Senator Gabriel Suswam of the APC who filed a suit against Senator Emmanuel Udende, the All Progressives Congress and INEC over the Benue North East Senatorial District primary.
Senator Suswam is challenging the APC’s decision to replace him with Senator Udende as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general election after he won the primary election conducted on 18th May 2026.
The Federal High Court 6 sitting in Abuja, presided over by Justice Inyange Ekwo, has reserved judgment in the case for October 12, 2026.
The provisional list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship and state assembly elections released last weekend by INEC is also causing controversy of its own.
Ten of the candidates listed by INEC for the election into the Anambra State House of Assembly have already been disowned by the NDC.
The NDC Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Theophilus Agada, said the party neither nominated the persons nor submitted their Form EC9E documents.
He wondered how the commission obtained the credentials of those listed by INEC “when it is the party’s legal duty to submit the names of its approved candidates.”
He added: “It is the party’s legal responsibility to submit the names and credentials of its nominated candidates.
“The NDC did not collect or forward completed EC9E forms for the 10 persons whose names later appeared on INEC’s published list.”
Director, Information and Voter Education of INEC, Victorian Eta-Mesi told our correspondent that the names of candidates published by the Commission in respect of Anambra “are as uploaded by the political parties”.
Oyo SDP governorship aspirant, Oladele, sues party, INEC over alleged Electoral Act violation
Controversy is also trailing the choice of Mr Michael Okunlade as the Oyo State governorship candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) with Chief Saheed Oladele suing the party and INEC for alleged violation of the Electoral Act.
The suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Ibadan yesterday on his behalf by his counsel, Mr Akinlolu Oyebamiji.
The suit is challenging the submission of Mr Okunlade’s name to INEC as the party’s consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 general election in Oyo State.
In the originating summon filed before the court and obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan, the applicant alleged that the party’s substitution and nomination process breached statutory regulations and did not comply with the Electoral Act 2026.
He said that Okunlade, who currently serves as the Oyo State Chairman of the party and whose name was submitted as the party’s governorship candidate, did not obtain the requisite expression of interest and nomination forms prior to the expiration of INEC deadline.
Oyebamiji, in the originating summon filed before the court said his client was the sole governorship aspirant that obtained the party’s expression of interest and nomination form before the INEC deadline.
“The foundation of candidate nomination requires adherence to statutory procedures.
“In this instance, no nomination form was obtained by Okunlade nor did our client execute any instrument of withdrawal or consent as required by law,” the counsel said.
He prayed for an order of the court to declare the imposition of Mr Michael Okunlade as the SDP consensus candidate in Oyo State, without the consensus or consent of the only participating aspirant during the INEC nomination window, as null and void.
Oyebamiji further prayed the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining Okunlade from presenting or parading himself as the Oyo State governorship candidate of SDP for the 2027 election.
“An order restraining INEC and the national executives of the SDP from recognising Okunlade as the validly nominated candidate of SDP.
“An order directing the party and the electoral commission to recognise Saheed Oladele as the sole SDP governorship candidate for 2027 governorship election in Oyo State,” the counsel prayed.
Oyebamiji further urged the court to make an order directing INEC to upload the name of his client, Chief Saheed Oladele onto its candidate portal for the upcoming 2027 general election.
The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the preliminary application filed by the plaintiff.
ADC unveils 28 governorship candidates, running mate
Apparently responding to claims that it would not field governorship candidates in at least 11 states next year, the ADC yesterday published the names of its flag bearers and their running mates in all the 28 states where governorship elections are scheduled to take place.
The candidates and their running mates are as follows:
Abia: Akalu Kalu Agu/Alozie Ogadinma Darlington
Adamawa: Modibbo Hammantukur Ribadu/ Aguwa Kevin Iliya
Akwa Ibom: Akpanudoedehe John James/ Nsien Mkpombuk Tommy
Bauchi: Haliru Dauda Jika/Sama’ila Mohammed Kabir
Benue: Herman Iorwase Hembe/Abba John Abba
Borno: BabaGana Buhari/Mamman Dauda
Cross River: Nkoyo Toyo/Ogwoche Andrew Adagbor
Delta: Great Ogboru/Afiari Gloria
Ebonyi: Ukpai Mba Udeh/Onwe Daniel Ede
Enugu: Ocho Obodoeze Chukwuma/Eze Arinze Christopher
Gombe: Bala Bello/Bala Sani Isa
Jigawa: Sabo Mohammed Nakudu/Musa Ya’u Balarabe
Kaduna: Isa Mohammed Ashiru/Kantiok Irmiya Ishaku
Kano: Ibrahim Ali Amin/Shehu Abdulkadir Bari
Katsina: Ahmad Babba Kaita/Aminu Yar’Adua Ahmed
Kebbi: Abubakar Malami/Zagi Musa Mohammed
Kwara: Zakari Mohammed/Olawuyi Julius Olayide
Lagos: Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour/Gbadamosi Babatunde Olalere
Nasarawa: Nuhu Angbazo/Ahmed Yusuf
Niger: Mohammed Kpautagi/Musa Mamman
Ogun: Biodun Collins Ogundipe/Muraina Oluwaranti Oluyemi
Oyo: Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke/Wahab Adeniyi
Plateau: Johnj Sunday Sura/Pwajok-Kele Chundung Bitrus
Rivers: Gabriel Pidomson/Okumgba David Amapakaye
Sokoto: Manir Mohammed Daniya/Isah Bello Ambaruba
Taraba: Abubakar Umar Tutare/Kwetishe Haruna Kwenyan
Yobe: Kassim G.Gaidam/Kori Lawan Mohammed
Zamfara: Shinkafi Bilyaminu Yusuf/Muhhamad Abdulmuddalib Auwal.
NDC dismisses claims it has no candidates in parts of Nigeria
A similar reaction came from the NDC.
The party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC has candidates across the country, including those contesting for the Senate and House of Representatives seats.
Director, reacting to allegations that the party had failed to field candidates in some states and local government areas, said: “That it is a lie from the pit of hell that we don’t have candidates in some parts of the country.”
He insisted that the party had complied with the necessary requirements for fielding candidates and was represented in states where elections would be held.
“We have candidates in the 28 states of the Federation where governorship elections will be taking place,” he said.
The spokesman said the party had initially chosen not to respond to the allegations because it did not want to give prominence to what he described as propaganda.
However, he said the NDC had decided to set the record straight by publishing the names of its candidates.
“We didn’t want to dignify the propagandist with any response. However, we are going to issue a press statement tomorrow with the names of all our candidates,” he said.
Director also questioned the motive behind the reports alleging that the NDC did not have candidates in some parts of the country.
“I don’t know why people sit down and begin to concoct stories,” he said.
The controversy over the party’s candidates comes against the backdrop of heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 elections, with parties working to finalise and publicise their candidates for the various elective positions.
The NDC, which has positioned itself as a major opposition platform ahead of the elections, has in recent months stepped up its mobilisation and campaign structures across the country.
The party has also faced internal and external scrutiny over its organisation, candidate selection and readiness for the elections.
Director’s statement is expected to be followed by the release of the party’s comprehensive candidate list, which the spokesman said would provide details of its candidates nationwide and settle the controversy over its participation in the 2027 elections.
Candidates in the state elections have until September 19 to withdraw their candidacy in writing, accompanied by a sworn affidavit, while the parties have until the same day to replace such candidates.
Final list for the state elections (governorship and state Assembly) will be released by the Commission on October 20.
