Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, Abdulsalam Gwarzo, have received the notice to contest the 2027 elections.
The duo were cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which stated that their clearance to contest the election is subject to the outcomes of pending court cases.
The commission, however, rejected a petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, who sought a review of his exclusion from the list of candidates.
According to Daily Trust, the commission received 69 petitions from political parties concerning omitted candidates for governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
36 of the petitions were successful, while the others failed.
“We received a total of 69 petitions from political parties. Some of them were successful, I think about 36, and the rest didn’t succeed,” the media outlet quoted the source as saying.
The source, however, said the commission was still awaiting the final figures from its legal department, which was working on the statement to be issued on the decisions.
On Pantami and Gwarzo, the source said the commission was not opposed to their candidacies but noted that the ongoing court cases could affect their eligibility.
“Yes, Pantami has been cleared,” the source said when asked about the PDP candidate in Gombe State.
On Gwarzo, the source said his clearance remained subject to the outcome of the legal dispute involving his candidacy.
“Because of the court case, the court may rule otherwise. So his approval is subject to whatever the court finally decides,” the source said.
The official added that the commission had no issues with either candidate contesting the election, pending the resolution of the legal matters.
“But we have no issues with their contesting as candidates,” the source said.
The source confirmed that Adebutu’s petition was unsuccessful.
“He did not succeed,” the official said when asked about the Ogun State PDP governorship candidate.
The decisions followed complaints by candidates and political parties after INEC omitted their names from the lists published ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Pantami and Gwarzo are among the prominent governorship candidates whose names were missing from the commission’s list released in October.
INEC had attributed the omissions to alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, requiring parties to submit their membership registers.
The commission said its position followed a September 24, 2026, Supreme Court judgment affirming the constitutionality of Section 77(5) to (7) of the Electoral Act, which makes the submission of membership registers mandatory.
