Nigeria’s electoral commission has published 18 presidential candidates for the 2027 election, putting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and two leading 2023 rivals on a roster that may expand.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) list draws candidates from 18 of the country’s 22 recognized parties. It names Tinubu for the All Progressives Congress, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the African Democratic Congress and former Anambra governor Peter Gregory Obi for the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
INEC’s 2023 election report records 8,794,726 votes for Tinubu, 6,984,520 for Abubakar and 6,101,533 for Obi. Tinubu was Lagos governor from 1999 to 2007, and Abubakar was vice president during those years, according to the State House.
The roster has 16 men and two women. Ada Elizabeth Fredrick Okwori, 48, represents the National Democratic Party, and Nkem Esther Okereke, 43, represents the National Rescue Movement. The listed ages run from 35 for Democratic Leadership Alliance candidate Moses Adebisi to 79 for Abubakar. INEC also identifies four women as vice-presidential candidates. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, 58, is listed for the Allied Peoples Movement while serving as Oyo State governor.
Abubakar and Obi appear under different parties, continuing the opposition’s separate tickets previously covered by EconoTimes.
Accord Party’s Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim is not on INEC’s posted list. PUNCH and Vanguard reported that a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered Accord to recognize him as its presidential nominee and submit his name to INEC. THISDAY reported Oct. 20 that INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said the commission would comply and add Olawepo-Hashim. That would bring the total to 19, though the posted PDF still names 18.
The Associated Press said analysts viewed Tinubu, Abubakar and Obi as likely central figures in the race. It also reported that a divided opposition could favor the incumbent as the contest unfolds amid a cost-of-living crisis.
INEC’s calendar schedules the presidential and National Assembly elections for Jan. 16, 2027.
