INEC accepts Pantami, Gwarzo’s candidacies, rejects Adebutu

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, Abdulsalam Gwarzo, to contest the 2027 general elections, subject to the outcomes of pending court cases.

However, the commission rejected a petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, who sought a review of his exclusion from the list of candidates.

A source at INEC disclosed the decisions to Daily Trust after the commission’s meeting on Thursday, saying it received 69 petitions from political parties over the omission of candidates for governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.

According to the source, approximately 36 petitions were successful, while the remaining requests were rejected. However, the commission was still awaiting final figures from its legal department, which was preparing an official statement on the decisions.

“We received a total of 69 petitions from political parties. Some of them were successful, I think about 36, and the rest didn’t succeed,” the source said.

On Pantami’s candidacy, the source confirmed that INEC had cleared the former minister, who is seeking to contest the governorship election in Gombe State.

“Yes, Pantami has been cleared,” the source said.

The official, however, noted that pending litigation could still affect the final status of the candidates.

Regarding Gwarzo, the source said the commission had no objection to his candidacy but stressed that its position remained subject to the court’s final decision.

“Because of the court case, the court may rule otherwise. So his approval is subject to whatever the court finally decides,” the source said.

The source added that INEC had no objection to either candidate contesting the election, provided the legal issues were resolved in their favour.

The commission, however, rejected Adebutu’s petition challenging his exclusion from the Ogun State governorship candidates’ list.

“He did not succeed,” the source said.

The decisions followed complaints by candidates and political parties after INEC omitted some names from its lists ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Pantami and Gwarzo were among the prominent governorship aspirants whose names were missing from the list published by the commission in October.

INEC had attributed the omissions to alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 requiring political parties to submit their membership registers.

The commission said its position was based on a September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment affirming the constitutionality of Section 77(5) to (7) of the Electoral Act, which makes the submission of party membership registers mandatory.

Gwarzo subsequently approached the court to challenge the omission of his name and that of his running mate, Rabiu Mustapha, from the list of NDC governorship candidates in Kano State.

In an originating summons dated October 20, 2026, he asked the court to declare their exclusion unlawful and compel INEC to recognise them as the party’s governorship candidate and running mate.

Pantami’s candidacy has also been the subject of litigation, with the INEC source indicating that a court proceeding was expected on Friday.

Meanwhile, Adebutu had challenged his exclusion from the final list of governorship candidates in Ogun State, maintaining that he remained a registered PDP member and had complied with the party’s membership registration requirements.

INEC is expected to issue a formal statement detailing the outcome of its review of the petitions.