INEC to decide Pantami, Adebutu’s fate over omission from final candidate list
By OUR REPORTER
The affected parties have insisted that they complied with the relevant legal requirements and urged INEC to correct what they described as wrongful omissions.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will consider the omission of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, Ladi Adebutu and other politicians from its final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship elections at its next meeting on Thursday October 30, 2026.
INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this in an exclusive media interview published on Wednesday October 29, 2026.
Pantami is seeking the Gombe State governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Adebutu is the party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State.
Their names, alongside those of Aminu Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Kano State, and Danjuma Laah, his counterpart in Kaduna State, were omitted from INEC’s final list published on October 10.
The commission also excluded the governorship candidates of the Social Democratic Party, New Nigeria People’s Party, Action Alliance and Accord in Bauchi State. The affected candidates are Abdullahi Yakubu, Musa Zubairu, Ahmed Shuaibu and Mohammed Aminu, respectively.
The omissions sparked protests and legal moves by the affected politicians and their parties, with uncertainty persisting over whether the commission would reinstate their names.
Haruna said the commission would deliberate on the matter at its next meeting.
“As for the final list of candidates, we will meet on it at our next commission meeting on Thursday,” he said.
INEC had attributed the exclusions to the failure of the affected political parties to submit their membership registers within the period stipulated by law.
The commission said its decision followed a September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment affirming the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026. The provisions require political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC before conducting valid primaries, congresses and conventions.
According to the commission, the apex court upheld its timetable requiring political parties to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.
“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,” INEC stated.
The commission maintained that parties that failed to meet the requirement were ineligible to sponsor candidates in the elections.
It also cited Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which requires the enforcement of decisions of competent courts, as part of the legal basis for applying the Supreme Court judgment to the final list.
However, the affected parties have insisted that they complied with the relevant legal requirements and urged INEC to correct what they described as wrongful omissions.
The PDP had approached the commission over the exclusion of Pantami and Adebutu. The party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, also deposed to an affidavit at the Federal High Court Registry in Abuja on October 15, challenging the omissions.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Jungudo, said its leadership and the candidates’ legal teams were engaging INEC to resolve the dispute, adding that legal action remained an option if the commission failed to address the matter.
Ogun PDP expresses confidence in Adebutu’s reinstatement
In Ogun State, the PDP expressed confidence that Adebutu’s name would be restored to the final list.
The state party chairman, Abayomi Tella, described the omission as an error, insisting that the party had fulfilled all legal requirements for the former governorship candidate’s nomination.
“The party views the omission as an error by INEC; we are very confident and optimistic that INEC will restore the name because every requirement of the law has been fulfilled,” Tella said.
Pantami considers legal options
In Gombe State, an aide to Pantami said the former minister would explore available legal options to challenge his exclusion.
Pantami emerged as the PDP governorship candidate following a court-ordered rerun of the party’s primary election on September 29.
His name had appeared on INEC’s provisional list published on August 29 but was missing from the final list released on October 10.
Meanwhile, the NDC has protested the exclusion of its Kano State governorship candidate, Aminu Gwarzo, and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the NDC had written to INEC and received acknowledgements but was yet to receive a substantive response.
INEC had earlier given political parties 14 days from the publication of the final list to notify it of candidates they believed had been wrongly omitted, in line with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The deadline expired on October 24, leaving the affected parties awaiting the commission’s decision on the disputed nominations.
