MURIC Faults INEC Over Missing Opposition Candidates on 2027 Guber List
Islamic rights group questions exclusion of Pantami, Adebutu, Gwarzo and other candidates from final list
By Abdullahi Yusuf
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the omission of several opposition governorship candidates from its final list for the February 2027 elections, describing the development as “very disturbing”.
In a statement issued on Monday, October 12, 2026, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, cited the absence of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Gombe State; Chief Oladipupo Ladi Adebutu, the PDP candidate in Ogun State; and Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in Kano State.
The organisation also noted that the governorship candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and NDC were missing from the final list for Cross River State.
“MURIC finds the omissions very disturbing, and that is to say the least,” Akintola said, alleging a coordinated effort to disadvantage opposition parties.
The organisation questioned the criteria applied by INEC in compiling the list and asked whether any governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had been similarly excluded.
INEC published its final governorship candidates’ lists on Saturday, October 10, ahead of the February 6, 2027 elections.
In Gombe, Pantami’s name was absent despite his emergence as the PDP candidate in a fresh primary conducted on September 29, following a court order nullifying the earlier exercise.
Pantami’s campaign organisation described the omission as a temporary challenge, saying its legal and liaison teams were engaging the relevant party organs and INEC to resolve the matter.
In Ogun State, Adebutu and his running mate were also absent from the final list. The omission came amid questions over whether Adebutu’s name appeared on the PDP membership register submitted to INEC. The Ogun PDP has rejected allegations that he was not properly registered.
In Kano State, Gwarzo and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso, were missing from the list. The NDC has maintained that Gwarzo remains its governorship candidate.
The final list for Cross River State contained candidates from eight political parties but excluded the ADC and NDC governorship tickets. The NDC described its candidate’s omission as a bureaucratic error and said it was engaging the relevant authorities to resolve the matter.
The omissions have drawn questions from the affected parties and candidates, while INEC has not publicly provided specific explanations for all the cases.
Akintola urged the electoral commission to avoid actions that could undermine public confidence in the 2027 elections, arguing that President Bola Tinubu’s administration should be judged on its performance rather than electoral arrangements that might favour the ruling party.
MURIC also questioned INEC’s leadership and called for greater clarity and fairness in the handling of candidates ahead of the elections.
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