INEC Sets September 12 To Publish Final 2027 Presidential, NASS Candidate List
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Saturday, September 12, publish the final list of candidates for the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, bringing greater clarity to the field ahead of the polls.
The Nation reports that the commission is currently putting finishing touches to the list before its official release. The publication is required under Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates INEC to publish the final list at least 60 days before an election.
INEC had earlier released a provisional list containing 19 presidential candidates, alongside their running mates and other required particulars. It also published provisional lists for candidates seeking seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled to take place simultaneously, placing the September publication among the key milestones in the formal preparation for the 2027 elections.
Political parties had until August 22, 2026, to substitute candidates for the presidential and National Assembly contests, while August 29 was the deadline for submission of nomination forms, known as Forms EC 13A-E.
The process also requires INEC to publish candidates’ personal particulars through Form EC9 under Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2026, following the submission of nomination documents by political parties.
The scale of the contest is substantial, with the APC, PDP and ADC expected to field candidates across all 469 National Assembly constituencies — 109 Senate seats and 360 House of Representatives seats. The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), meanwhile, is expected to contest all 109 senatorial seats and 219 House of Representatives seats.
However, the final list is coming against a backdrop of unresolved disputes over substitutions, with some aspirants insisting that their parties altered their candidacies despite their claims of winning primaries.
Among those challenging such a decision is former Benue State governor and Senator representing Benue North East, Gabriel Suswam, who has gone to court over the APC’s decision to replace him with Senator Emmanuel Udende.
Suswam is challenging the substitution after claiming victory at the APC primary conducted on May 18, 2026. The Federal High Court 6, Abuja, presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo, has reserved judgment in the matter for October 12, 2026.
The integrity of the candidate lists has also come under scrutiny in the preparations for the February 6, 2027 governorship and State House of Assembly elections. In Anambra State, the NDC has disowned 10 individuals listed by INEC as its candidates for the State House of Assembly.
The party’s Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Theophilus Agada, said the NDC neither nominated the affected individuals nor submitted their Form EC9E documents to INEC, questioning how their names and credentials found their way into the commission’s published list.
Agada stressed that political parties have the legal responsibility to submit the names and credentials of their approved candidates, insisting that the NDC did not collect or forward completed EC9E forms for the 10 individuals.
INEC’s Director of Information and Voter Education, Victorian Eta-Mesi, however, said the names published for the Anambra election were those uploaded by the political parties, leaving the dispute centred on the accuracy of the information submitted to the electoral commission.
