INEC to Decide Pantami, Gwarzo, Adebutu’s Fate at Meeting Today

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is expected to deliberate on the exclusion of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, Aminu Gwarzo, Ladi Adebutu and other politicians from its final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship elections.

INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Wednesday, saying the commission would consider the matter at its meeting scheduled for Thursday.

Pantami is seeking the governorship of Gombe State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Gwarzo is the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Kano State. Adebutu is the PDP’s governorship candidate in Ogun State, while Danjuma Laah is the NDC candidate in Kaduna State.

Their names were among those missing from INEC’s final list published on October 10, alongside candidates of other political parties in Bauchi State.

The affected Bauchi candidates include Abdullahi Yakubu of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Musa Zubairu of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Ahmed Shuaibu of the Action Alliance (AA) and Mohammed Aminu of Accord.

The omissions have sparked protests and legal challenges by the affected candidates and their political parties, who are demanding that the commission review its decision.

“As for the final list of candidates, we will meet on it at our next commission meeting on Thursday,” Haruna told Punch.

INEC had explained that the affected parties failed to submit their membership registers within the period stipulated by law, making them ineligible to sponsor candidates in the elections.

The commission based its position on the Supreme Court judgment delivered on September 24, 2026, which upheld 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 INEC, the Supreme Court also upheld its timetable requiring parties to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.

The commission further cited Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates compliance with decisions of competent courts, as the legal basis for its action.

However, the affected parties have disputed INEC’s position, insisting that they fulfilled the necessary legal requirements and urging the commission to correct what they described as wrongful omissions.

The PDP has engaged INEC over the exclusions of Pantami and Adebutu, while its National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, reportedly filed an affidavit at the Federal High Court Registry in Abuja on October 15 to challenge the decision.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Jungudo, said its leadership and the candidates’ legal teams were discussing the matter with the commission, adding that legal action remained an option if the dispute was not resolved.

In Ogun State, PDP Chairman Abayomi Tella described Adebutu’s omission as an error and expressed confidence that his name would be restored in a revised list.

Tella maintained that the party had complied with all relevant legal requirements for the nomination of its candidate.

In Gombe, an aide to Pantami said the former minister would explore available legal options to challenge his exclusion.

Pantami emerged as the PDP governorship candidate after a court-ordered rerun of the party’s primary on September 29. His name had appeared on INEC’s provisional list released on August 29 but was absent from the final list published on October 10.

The NDC has also protested the exclusion of Gwarzo and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said it had written to INEC and received acknowledgements but was yet to receive a substantive response.

Before the latest development, INEC had given political parties 14 days from the publication of the final list to report candidates they believed had been wrongly omitted, in line with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026. The deadline expired on October 24.

Thursday’s meeting is expected to determine the commission’s next steps on the disputed omissions, although the outcome remains uncertain.