ONE DAY TO DEADLINE: ANY HOPE FOR PANTAMI, ADEBUTU, GWARZO?

Pantami, Adebutu and Gwarzo Face Deadline Battle Over Missing Names on 2027 Ballot

With the October 24 deadline approaching, uncertainty surrounds the governorship ambitions of Isa Ali Pantami, Oladipupo Adebutu and Aminu Gwarzo following their exclusion from INEC’s final candidates’ list.

Their political parties are seeking corrections and have indicated that they may take legal action if the electoral commission does not resolve their complaints.

The deadline concerns the window for notifying INEC of alleged omissions. It does not guarantee that affected candidates will be reinstated.

Pantami seeks clarification in Gombe

Former Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Ali Pantami emerged as the PDP’s governorship candidate in Gombe State following a court-ordered rerun primary.

Although his name appeared on the provisional list, it was missing from the final list published on October 10.

The PDP and Pantami’s lawyers have contacted INEC, but the party says the issue remains unresolved.

Adebutu’s Ogun ticket faces uncertainty

In Ogun State, PDP candidate Oladipupo Adebutu and his running mate, Kolapo-Sowunmi, were also absent from the final list.

The party insists that Adebutu met its membership-registration requirements. It has accused the APC of influencing the process, but that allegation has not been established.

INEC’s explanation centres on compliance with statutory requirements for political parties’ membership registers.

NDC questions Gwarzo’s omission

The Nigeria Democratic Congress says it submitted the details of its Kano governorship candidate, Aminu Gwarzo, and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The party believes an administrative error may explain their absence. It says INEC acknowledged its correspondence but had not provided a substantive response.

What could determine their return?

According to the report, INEC applied a September 24 Supreme Court judgment upholding requirements for parties to submit their membership registers within the prescribed period.

The central question is therefore whether the affected parties complied with those requirements and whether INEC correctly applied the judgment to their nominations.

Winning a party primary alone may not resolve the dispute if the sponsoring party is considered ineligible to field candidates.

For the three politicians, the immediate task is to support their complaints with evidence. If INEC maintains its position, the parties may pursue court action, leaving their places on the ballot uncertain beyond the notification deadline.