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By Ayo Kehinde
The Independent National Election Commission on Saturday released the final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027 elections for the governorship and the House of Assembly. Adhering to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Commission’s powers to regulate political parties as it affects elections and the submission and use of political party records for primaries, conventions and conventions, the Commission has released the final list of candidates for the governorship and Assembly polls.
Reports show that the lists, signed by INEC Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony and published on the INEC website on Saturday, exonerated Rivers State governorship candidate, Kingsley Chinda, despite controversy over his party affiliation, and cleared the names of Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidates for Ogun and Gombe states, Ladi Adebutu and Isa Ali Pantami respectively. Others affected are the Kano State candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Aminu Abdulsalam Gwarzo, and his Nasarawa counterpart, Musa Shugaba-Abdullahi.
Of the 13 candidates in Ogun and 16 in Gombe, none are from the PDP.
Adebutu’s omission comes amid questions over the absence of his name from the register of PDP members submitted to INEC. Some groups had raised doubts about his eligibility after they said his name was missing from the register.
In Gombe, Pantami recently suffered a legal setback when aggrieved members of the party took him to court, which upheld their plea for the former Digital Economy Minister to not join. On September 23, Justice Amina Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Gombe annulled Pantami’s victory and ordered the party to conduct another primary within 30 days. In a subsequent primary election conducted by the party on September 30, he won the ticket. The INEC publication which omits his name appears to have confirmed the claims of party leaders who denounced him.
In Edo State, where only House of Assembly candidates would contest the 2027 elections as governorship is an off-cycle event, an analysis of the final list released by INEC in Benin on Saturday shows that 164 candidates will contest the elections.
Among these candidates, 148 are men, equal to 90.24%, while only 16 are women, equal to 9.76%.
These figures translate to an approximate male-to-female ratio of 9:1, underscoring the limited presence of women among those seeking to represent 24 constituencies in the state legislature.
Among the female candidates on the list are Memo Akerele of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who will run for Akoko Edo I at 30; Elizabeth Dauda of the Labor Party (LP), Akoko Edo II, 51; and SDP’s Negbedion Shirley, Esan North East I, 33.
Others include Maria Edeko of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Esan North East II, 63; Mercy Bello of the African Action Congress (AAC), Etsako West I, 37; and Salamatu Izuagie of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), also from Etsako West I, aged 63.
Egor constituency has several female candidates on the list, including 30-year-old Bukky Ayetan of the Democratic Action Party (ADP); Bridget Obakpolor of LP, 54; Natasha Osawaru of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), 32; and SDP’s Imuetinyan Bright, 45.
Other women include Osarenkhoe Erhunmwunse and Tracy Ogiemwonyi in Ikpoba-Okha constituency; Patience Edobor and Helen Omorogbe in Orhionmwon Constituency 1; Uyigue Efosa in Ovia North East Constituency I; and Omosede Adenomo in Ovia South West Constituency.
Despite these individual candidacies, data shows that women remain a small minority in the race, which could limit their representation in the next Assembly if the imbalance is reflected in the election results.
Regardless of gender, the list of candidates includes aspirants of different age groups, from young contenders to candidates in their 60s.
The SDP’s Idriss Idriss, who is contesting in Etsako West constituency 11 at 26, is the youngest candidate on the list.
Other young aspirants include Johnson Ipeshi of the SDP in Akoko Edo Constituency II, aged 28; Hates Godwin of Young Progressives Party (YPP), Esan South East constituency, 29; and Edobor Patience of ADP, Orhionmwon Constituency 1, also 29 years old.
NAN notes that their participation reflects the interest of young Nigerians in elective politics, after years of advocacy for greater youth inclusion, including the Not Too Young To Run movement.
At the opposite end of the age range, older candidates are also seeking legislative seats.
Nosakhare Igbinedion of Action Peoples Party (APP), candidate in Orhionmwon Constituency 11, is 66 years old, while Omorogbe Helen of APP, Orhionmwon Constituency 1, is 65 years old.
Meanwhile, the list of candidates includes a wide range of political parties, including the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), along with the SDP, LP, ADC, ADP, NDC, APP, YPP, AAC, Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Alliance (AA) and National Rescue Movement (NRM).
The range of parties reflects participation beyond the country’s two dominant political platforms.
The Persons with Disabilities (PWD) column records “None” for every candidate on the list, indicating that no person with disabilities will contest the State Assembly elections.
In Akwa Ibom State, incumbent Governor Umo Eno of the APC, Senator John Akpanudoedehe of the ADC, Michael Bush and Dr Michael Enyong of the NDC are among the 21 governorship candidates in the final list of the Commission for the 2027 Elections.
Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom Northwest), Senator Aniekan Bassey (Akwa Ibom Northeast), Senator Ekong Sampson (Akwa Ibom South) and candidates of other political parties listed earlier also made the final list.
Other governorship candidates are Victoria Akpan (New Nigeria People’s Party), Akpan Michael Udoh (National Democratic Party), Ekpenyong Akaniyene Effiong (Boot Party), Akpan Jeremiah Udoh (Democratic Leadership Party) and Umoh Emem (People’s Action Party).
The list also includes Udoh Stephen Mfon (African Action Congress), Otong Edidiong Effiong (Action Alliance Party), Archibong Inimfon Nsikak (African Democratic Party) and Jimmy Stella Monday (All Progressives Grand Alliance), among others.
Things will become clearer as more names are likely to be affected in light of the Supreme Court ruling.
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