Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued 2027 candidate lists with the Nigeria Democratic Congress’ Kano ticket unnamed as a reported Niger lawsuit and planned Ogun court challenge put state ballot access in focus.
INEC’s updated Kano roster, posted Oct. 31, has 20 party entries. The NDC appears on it, but its governorship and deputy governorship fields are blank and each is marked “COURT ORDER.”
An archived earlier list has 17 entries and no NDC. The published lists give no reason for that earlier omission.
Daily Trust reported that an unnamed senior INEC official said an Oct. 27 Federal High Court order required the commission to withhold the NDC candidates’ names from the updated roster. That account addresses the blank fields in the current list, not the party’s earlier absence.
According to Nigerian Tribune and Leadership, the Niger All Progressives Congress (APC) asked the Federal High Court in Minna to block Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Muhammad Mamman Nami and Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate Mohammed Ndarani Mohammed, alleging they defected from the APC. Both candidates remain on INEC’s Niger roster.
INEC’s Ogun list contains 13 party entries but no PDP ticket or Ogun PDP governorship candidate Ladi Adebutu. Ogun PDP publicity secretary Kayode Adebayo told Nigerian Tribune that the party planned to challenge Adebutu’s exclusion in court during the week of Nov. 2.
INEC identifies Adebukola Abiola Ajaja as Accord’s national secretary. TheCable and BusinessDay reported that Accord is contesting Ajaja’s suit to disqualify the party’s 2027 candidates, arguing, among other points, that she filed too late.
The Supreme Court’s Sept. 24 judgment restored provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 on party membership registers and primaries. It said failing to submit a membership register can prevent a party from fielding candidates, but does not by itself disqualify individual members. The judgment did not decide the reported Niger challenge or either candidate’s eligibility.
INEC scheduled the governorship and state assembly elections for Feb. 6, 2027.
