INEC List: ‘Stop Fighting a Lost Battle’ — Shehu Sani Tells Omitted Candidates

Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has advised politicians omitted from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) final lists of candidates for the 2027 elections to stop pursuing further legal battles and begin preparing for future political opportunities.

Sani gave the advice in a post on social media on Saturday, following the publication of INEC’s final lists of governorship candidates across several states.

“The Supreme Court ruling that enabled INEC to exclude some names of candidates is very clear. Affected candidates should not waste their money, time and energy fighting a lost battle,” he wrote.

The former lawmaker also appealed to lawyers representing the affected politicians, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria, to reconsider encouraging them to institute fresh legal actions.

“I also wish to appeal to those Barristers and SANs to ‘pity’ those candidates and allow them to rest, and not mislead them into spending more money ‘filing fresh suits’,” Sani added.

“Four years will come and go; let them strategise for the future.”

His comments followed a Supreme Court judgment delivered on September 24, 2026, which restored provisions of the Electoral Act governing political party membership registers and participation in party primaries.

Under Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act, only party members whose names appear on the membership register submitted to INEC at least 21 days before a primary, congress or convention are eligible to participate in the exercise.

The judgment has become a major issue following the omission of several prominent politicians from INEC’s final candidate lists.

In Ogun State, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Ladi Adebutu and his running mate were absent from the published list.

In Gombe State, former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Pantami, who reportedly won a fresh PDP governorship primary, was also omitted alongside his running mate.

Aminu Abdussalam-Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate in Kano State, was another prominent politician reported missing from the list.

INEC’s published documents did not explain all the omissions, while the affected politicians and their parties faced questions over compliance with nomination requirements and the implications of the Supreme Court ruling.

Sani’s intervention adds to the debate over the legal options available to excluded candidates as political parties prepare for the 2027 general elections.