INEC Omits Pantami and Adebutu From Governorship List as Chinda Is Cleared in Rivers

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released a list of candidates for the 2027 governorship elections on October 10 that did not include Messrs Pantami and Adebutu, the PDP's candidates in Gombe and Ogun states respectively. No reason was given for the omission, but many believe it follows the Supreme Court's September 24 judgment, which held that only candidates whose names were on a party's membership list before its governorship primaries will be accredited. The ruling invalidated aspirants who defected to a party months after it submitted its membership list to INEC and before it held its primary.

In Rivers State, INEC cleared Kingsley Chinda, who appeared as number 5 on a 19-man list. A strong ally of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Chinda is a former minority leader of the House of Representatives. He was a PDP member but defected to the APC just before the party's governorship primaries in the state.

His candidacy had drawn apprehension after the Supreme Court restored Sections 77(5), (6), (7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which bar parties from fielding candidates whose names were not in the membership register submitted to INEC within the stipulated time.