Second Chance For Adebutu, Pantami, As INEC Set October 24 Deadline For Parties To Approach Commission

By Akinwale Kasali 

Respite could be on the way for Oladipupo Adebutu and Isa Pantami, Governorship Candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State and Gombe State, as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said parties that believe their candidates were wrongly omitted have 14 days from the publication of the final list to notify the Commission.

INEC said the decision was not based on the commission’s discretion but followed a recent Supreme Court judgment concerning the statutory obligations of political parties ahead of elections.

The commission said the September 24, 2026 judgment of the Supreme Court in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party upheld the constitutional validity of Sections 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

According to INEC, the provisions make the submission of political party membership registers a mandatory requirement.

INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said political parties were required to submit their membership registers between April 21 and May 10, 2026.

The Commission said parties that failed to comply with the requirement became ineligible to sponsor candidates for the affected election.

Haruna also added that while INEC was finalising the Governorship Candidate list, it was compelled to apply the Supreme Court’s ruling and exclude Candidates sponsored by parties that did not satisfy the statutory requirement.

The latest development follows a legal battle over the interpretation of Section 77(5)-(7) of the Electoral Act.

INEC said the Supreme Court, in its September 24 judgment, overturned the uncertainty created by an earlier Court of Appeal decision by affirming that the membership-register requirement was constitutional and mandatory.

The electoral commission subsequently applied the Supreme Court’s decision while preparing the final governorship list.

INEC stressed that the presidential and National Assembly candidate lists had already been published on September 12, before the Supreme Court judgment was delivered.

It has, however, given October 24, 2026, as deadline for affected Parties to approach the  Commission.