THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Saturday, released the final list of governorship candidates of the various parties for the 2027 election, with the names of candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from two states missing.
The list, which was released on Saturday evening, showed that the PDP governorship candidates in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu and his running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Gbadebo, as well as the candidate of the party from Gombe State, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, were missing.
In the case of Ogun State, 13 political parties have the names of their governorship and deputy governorship candidates on the list, except the PDP.
When contacted, the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Mr Kayode Adebayo, said the party was yet to confirm the report.
He said: “We are yet to confirm the report, we can’t say anything for now.” Also in Gombe State, the name of Pantami, the gubernatorial candidate of the Nyesom Wike-backed PDP, was not included among the list of candidates released by INEC.
Similarly, the name of the Kano State governorship candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abdussalam Gwarzo, was missing from the INEC list.
However, as of the time of filing this report, efforts to get reactions from the candidate’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu, were unsuccessful.
All efforts to get reactions from the state chapter of the PDP as well as the campaign organisation failed, as no official of the party was ready to comment on the development.
However, when Sunday Tribune contacted the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP on Saturday night, the party said it had yet to see the list released by INEC.
The NWC added that an unofficial position could only be made after sighting the list.
The National Publicity Secretary, Mr Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, while responding to questions, insisted that no NWC members had seen the list.
“We won’t react based on what people say they have seen on social media.
“When we see the list and it’s confirmed to be what INEC released, we will make our official position known. We will decide whether to take INEC up in case it’s a matter of human error.
“Right now, there is nothing to say officially,” Mohammed stated.
Meanwhile, the Pantamiyya Organisation, the support group coordinating the Isa Ali Pantami campaign, in a statement signed by the Director General, Professor Suleiman Mohammed Gombe, has assured that it is on top of the situation.
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to the non-publication of the name of our candidate from the fresh primary election of 29th September, 2026, as ordered by the Federal High Court, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), in the list released by INEC.
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“We wish to assure all our supporters to remain calm, steadfast, and hopeful. This is a temporary challenge and a normal part of the electoral process, not a final determination, in sha Allah.”
