INEC gives parties October 24 deadline to report missing governorship candidates

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed October 24 as the deadline for political parties to notify it of candidates omitted from the final list for the 2027 governorship election.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mohammed Haruna, INEC commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee, said political parties have 14 days from the publication date to report any such omissions.

Haruna said the deadline is based on section 32(2) of the Electoral Act (2026).

“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 statement reads.

“The decision arose from INEC’s appeal against the judgement 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 judgement, 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 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Commission, while finalizing 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.”

Haruna added that INEC had published the final list of presidential and national assembly candidates on September 12, 2026, 13 days before the Supreme Court delivered its judgment.

In September, a seven-member Supreme Court panel ruled in favour of INEC’s appeal, reinstating sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act.

In its lead judgment, delivered by Adamu Jauro, the apex court ruled that the provisions struck down by the Court of Appeal in July do not conflict with the 1999 Constitution.

The Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision and reinstated the Federal High Court’s ruling, which had dismissed a challenge to the provisions brought by the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act stipulates that only party members listed in a membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a primary, congress or convention are eligible to participate in the exercise.

Section 77(6) prohibits political parties from using any membership register other than the one submitted to INEC for their primaries, congresses and conventions.