Former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and Iyabo Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party are among candidates on the updated list for the 2027 general elections released by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
INEC published the updated list of candidates for the National (Presidential and National Assembly) and State (Governorship and State Assembly) elections on Saturday.
Many had expected that Omo-Agege and Iyabo Obasanjo, who were aspirants in their respective parties before joining the NDC and PDP, might be affected by the Supreme Court judgment on the validity of Section 77 of the Electoral Act. 
A study of the list shows that the names of the NDC candidate in Kano State, Abdulsalam Gwarzo, and the PDP candidate in Ogun State, Adebutu, were missing. The NDC column for Kano was left blank with the commission writing “court Order” in the comment section. The commission said final clearance for Gwarzo will depend on the outcome of a subsisting court case.
Also listed without a candidate is Accord for the presidential election, even though a Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered INEC to recognise Olawepo Hashim as the party’s presidential candidate. The party has challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal, saying Hashim did not meet the deadline for expression of interest and purchase of nomination forms.
The updated list includes Omo-Agege as the NDC senatorial candidate for Delta Central, and Iyabo Obasanjo, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central.
In Kaduna, where the NDC candidate was earlier omitted from the final list published on October 10, the name published is Mohammed Sani Abbas instead of Danjuma La’ah, whose name was displayed during claims and objections.
The updated list contains 20 new governorship candidates, with one additional name in Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Oyo, Taraba and Zamfara; two new names in Kaduna, Cross River and Nasarawa; and three new names in Gombe and Kano (including the blank NDC slot). The number of parties contesting in Abia was reduced from 15 to 14.
According to the list, APC and ADC are fielding candidates in the 28 states where governorship elections will hold, while PDP and NDC are fielding candidates in 26 states each. PDP has no candidates in Kebbi and Ogun, while NDC has no candidates in Abia and Ogun. The NDC candidate in Abia, Ndubuisi Ogah, who was on the earlier final list, was omitted.
New NDC candidates added include John Odey Upan (Cross River), Shammah Danladi Dodo (Nasarawa) and Muktar Farouk Alhaji (Kebbi).
Although a Federal High Court in Gombe nullified the nomination of former Minority Whip Ali Isa JC as APC candidate for Balanga/Biliri Federal Constituency and barred him from recontesting the primary, INEC published his name.
INEC said none of the names published before the Supreme Court judgment were affected by the latest changes.
Confirming the update, the Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said some petitions succeeded while others failed.
He said 69 petitions were received from 12 parties across 26 states for governorship election, with 41 succeeding and 28 failing. For State Houses of Assembly, 61 petitions were received from 11 parties across 11 states, with 25 succeeding and 36 failing.
