Nigeria: Governorship Polls - Candidates' Substitution Window Closes in 11 Days

What the report says

Nigeria’s political parties have less than 11 days to withdraw or replace governorship candidates they earlier submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 elections, according to a Leadership report distributed by AllAfrica. The report says the deadline falls on September 19, 2026, under the Electoral Act 2026, which allows withdrawals up to 90 days before the poll.

The Abuja-based report said disputes over nominations are still playing out in several states, while INEC has already published the names of candidates submitted for governorship and State House of Assembly races for public inspection at its offices nationwide. An INEC official, speaking without authorization to the media, said the current lists should not be treated as final because parties can still substitute candidates before the deadline.

Leadership reported that major parties including the APC, ADC and NDC have fielded candidates across states, and that claims that the ADC and NDC lacked nominees in 12 states were rejected by the parties. The article also said attempts to obtain a comprehensive national list from INEC were unsuccessful, and noted that some candidate names were not displayed in places such as Zamfara and Sokoto despite submissions.

The final candidate list will be released only after nomination and substitution procedures are completed, which matters because the governorship contest covers 28 states in this election cycle, with the remaining eight states not voting this time.