The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given political parties whose candidates were omitted from its final list for the 2027 governorship elections until October 24 to notify it of the alleged errors.

The commission announced the deadline in a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.

Among those omitted from the list are the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidates in Gombe and Ogun states, Isa Ali Pantami and Oladipupo Adebutu, respectively.

Also affected are the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo, and the African Democratic Congress deputy governorship candidate in Jigawa State, Aminu Ringim, alongside other candidates.

INEC said the deadline was in accordance with Section 32(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which gives political parties 14 days from the publication of the candidates’ list to notify the commission in writing, supported by an affidavit, where they believe a nominated candidate was wrongly excluded.

The omissions followed a Supreme Court judgment delivered on September 24 in the case of INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, which upheld the constitutionality of provisions of the Electoral Act governing party membership registers and candidate nominations.

The court upheld Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Act, which require political parties to submit their membership registers to INEC within the prescribed period and use them for party primaries, congresses and conventions.

According to the commission, the Supreme Court also held that parties that failed to comply with these requirements were ineligible to sponsor candidates in the elections.

INEC explained that it applied the judgment when finalising the governorship candidates’ list, excluding parties that had not complied with the membership-register requirements.

The commission said its actions were guided by Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which requires authorities to enforce court decisions.

It, however, noted that the final lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates had been published on September 12, before the Supreme Court judgment was delivered.

The commission urged affected parties to submit their complaints within the stipulated period, stressing its commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the credibility of the electoral process ahead of the February 6, 2027 governorship elections.