Several opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Labour Party (LP) and Action Democratic Party (ADP), have confirmed that they met the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) October 24 deadline to correct omissions in the list of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The parties said they had completed the necessary corrections within the period provided by the electoral umpire, while awaiting further clarification from INEC on the status of the affected candidates.
The development follows the publication of INEC’s list of candidates, which excluded some governorship aspirants and House of Assembly candidates from opposition parties.
Among those affected were the PDP’s governorship candidates in Ogun and Gombe states, Oladipupo Adebutu and Professor Isa Pantami, respectively, as well as several candidates contesting for seats in state Houses of Assembly.
Other parties affected by the omissions included the Social Democratic Party (SDP), NDC, ADC, ADP and LP.
INEC had given the affected parties until October 24 to resolve the issues surrounding the missing names.
PDP Confirms Compliance With INEC Deadline
The PDP’s National Organising Secretary, Captain Umar Bature (retd.), confirmed that the party met the deadline.
Speaking with Vanguard, Bature said the party had completed the required corrections within the stipulated period.
“Yes, we met the deadline since,” he said.
The party had earlier raised concerns over the omission of some of its candidates from the list released by INEC, including its governorship candidates in Ogun and Gombe states.
NDC, ADP Also Confirm Compliance
The NDC leadership also confirmed that it had complied with INEC’s directive.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, gave the confirmation when contacted by Vanguard to clarify whether the party had met the deadline.
“Yes, we did,” he said.
Similarly, the National Chairman of the ADP, Yabagi Yusuf Sani, confirmed that his party had completed the necessary steps before the deadline expired.
“We did. Thanks a lot,” Sani said.
Labour Party Says It Is In Good Standing
The Labour Party also declared that it remained in good standing with INEC regarding the correction of candidates’ names and the replacement of candidates where necessary.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, said the LP had addressed the relevant issues and remained confident about the participation of its candidates in the forthcoming elections.
According to him, the party was looking forward to a successful outing for its candidates in the 2027 general elections.
INEC Yet To Clarify Status Of Some Candidates
Despite the assurances from the political parties, INEC had yet to release further information clarifying the status of some candidates whose names were omitted from the published list.
Those awaiting clarification include the NDC’s John Upan and the ADC’s Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo in Cross River State.
Toyo told Vanguard that she had completed all the required steps before the October 24 deadline but was still waiting for the electoral commission to provide an update.
She said the deadline had expired without any official information being released on the matter.
According to her, she had fulfilled the requirements communicated to her and was waiting for INEC to announce its decision.
When contacted, the Head of Voter Education at INEC’s Cross River State office, Osaro Aisen, said the matter was being handled by the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
He explained that the issue involved legal considerations and that further information would be available after consultations with the appropriate authorities.
“The whole thing is handled from Abuja and it is a legal matter. Let’s see what will come forth tomorrow (Monday),” Aisen said.
He added that he could not provide a definite answer until further clarification was received.
The affected parties are now awaiting INEC’s official position on the omitted candidates, which will determine the status of those whose names were not included in the initial publication.
The commission’s clarification is expected to provide greater certainty for the candidates and their respective parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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