THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is expected to release the final list of candidates contesting the January 16, 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, September 12, 2026.
News Point Nigeria reports that officials of the commission are currently fine-tuning the list in preparation for the scheduled publication, as the electoral body moves to complete another major stage of preparations for the 2027 general elections. INEC’s revised timetable confirms September 12 as the date for publication of the final list of nominated candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
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The schedule was confirmed by Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, who had earlier clarified that the list displayed in August was not the final list, with the final list to be published on September 12 in line with Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
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 January 16, 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections will therefore have their final candidates’ list published within the statutory timeframe.
The commission had, last month, published the provisional list of 19 presidential candidates, their running mates and the particulars of each of them for public scrutiny. The publication was carried out in accordance with Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Released at the same time was the list of candidates for the election into the Senate and the House of Representatives, with the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to hold on 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 forms, Forms EC13A-E, closed on Saturday, August 29, 2026. INEC’s timetable confirms both dates.
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. The exercise is intended to allow Nigerians and other stakeholders to scrutinise the information submitted by candidates and raise valid objections.
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
The APC, PDP and ADC are expected to present candidates for all 469 National Assembly seats, comprising 109 Senate seats and 360 House of Representatives seats, while the Nigeria Democratic Congress is expected to present candidates for all 109 senatorial seats and 219 House of Representatives seats.
However, some aspirants are currently challenging their substitution by their parties after allegedly winning their respective primaries.
One of them is 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.
Suswam is challenging the APC’s decision to replace him with Udende as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general election after he won the primary election conducted on May 18, 2026.
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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.”
However, Director, Information and Voter Education of INEC, Victorian Eta-Mesi, told The Nation that the names of candidates published by the commission in respect of Anambra “are as uploaded by the political parties.”
Controversy is also trailing the choice of Mr Michael Okunlade as the Oyo State governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, 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 on Friday on his behalf by his counsel, Mr Akinlolu Oyebamiji.
The suit is challenging the submission of Okunlade’s name to INEC as the party’s consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 general election in Oyo State.
In the originating summons filed before the court and obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria 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 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 before the expiration of INEC’s deadline.
Oyebamiji, in the originating summons filed before the court, said his client was the sole governorship aspirant who obtained the party’s expression of interest and nomination form before the INEC deadline.
With the final Presidential and National Assembly candidates’ list due on September 12, attention is now turning to the names that will survive the nomination, substitution and legal challenges ahead of the January 16, 2027 polls. INEC’s timetable also provides for the final list for the governorship and State Assembly elections to be published on October 10, 2026.
