2027 Politics Update: APC Challenges Opposition Candidates, INEC Faces Questions in Kano

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is asking a court to stop some of its former members from running in next year’s elections with opposition parties in Niger State.

Among those the APC is targeting are the governorship candidates from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Both candidates left the APC after disagreements about the party’s primary elections.

If the APC wins the case, it could stop these opposition candidates from being on the ballot.

In Kano, another issue is raising questions for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). A governorship candidate's name was missing from a list published on 10 October. This was confusing because a court order explaining his removal was said to have been issued on 27 October.

The candidate, Aminu Gwarzo from the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), is demanding answers. He mentioned that his party has taken INEC to court and is planning to challenge the restraining order.

In Ogun State, the PDP is also preparing to take legal action over the omission of their governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu. The Accord party is defending its nominations against a lawsuit from its national secretary.

The Niger APC has filed a case at the Federal High Court in Minna against PDP's governorship candidate, Mohammed Nami, SDP's candidate, Mohammed Ndarani Mohammed, and other politicians who left the party.

INEC is named as the first defendant in this case. LEADERSHIP reported that 11 Senior Advocates of Nigeria led by Jacob Usman filed the suit.

The suit lists INEC, PDP, SDP, ADC, and NDC, alongside several politicians, including Senator Peter Jiya, NDC senatorial candidate Sadiq Rabiu, and ADC deputy governorship candidate Musa Mamman.

The APC claims these politicians joined other parties without officially resigning from the ruling party. They want the court to reject their defections and stop INEC from recognizing them as candidates or members of their new parties.

Mr Nami and Mr Ndarani became candidates for their parties after they left the APC due to disputes over the primaries.

This lawsuit follows the Supreme Court’s decision on 24 September, which restored Sections 77(5), (7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which govern party membership lists and candidate nominations.

The court decided that the rules about membership lists do not automatically disqualify individual candidates. Whether the APC's claims about the politicians’ defections justify the orders they want remains for the Federal High Court to decide.

INEC left out Aminu Gwarzo and his running mate, Mustapha Kwankwaso, from its list of governorship candidates published on 10 October.

This omission was reported by PREMIUM TIMES the next day. The NDC said INEC officials blamed it on a computer problem.

On 27 October, a Federal High Court in Kano reportedly issued an order stopping the publication of the candidates’ names. INEC later stated that Mr Gwarzo met the requirements for nomination but the court order stopped them from publishing his name.

Mr Gwarzo questioned why his name was missing before the court order was issued. He said the legal proceedings started on 17 October, but this date has not been confirmed.

In an interview with ARISE News, reported by LEADERSHIP, he accused officials linked to the Kano State Government and APC of trying to block his participation in the election.

He claimed the legal proceedings began without the candidates being notified and said the NDC would join the case and challenge the interim order. His claim of political interference has not been independently verified.

The NDC has also approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order to make INEC include its governorship ticket on the candidates’ list.

This situation has led to protests by party supporters and criticism from former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. He accused political opponents of trying to stop the NDC from contesting.

INEC’s updated list still did not include the NDC ticket, citing the court order.

The commission has not publicly explained why the original omission happened. The certified court order and INEC’s communications with the party would clarify the reasons for its actions.

In Ogun State, the PDP plans to go to court after INEC left out Ladi Adebutu from its final list of candidates.

The party’s publicity secretary, Kayode Adebayo, said they will begin proceedings this week but did not give a specific date.

Mr Adebutu and his running mate were missing from the 10 October list, even though the PDP insists they met the nomination requirements.

INEC later reviewed petitions from political parties about excluded candidates but did not add Mr Adebutu’s name back.

The commission did approve other requests, such as one from PDP governorship candidate Isa Pantami in Gombe State.

This difference raised questions from Ogun PDP supporters and the Egba Integrity Group, which accused INEC of inconsistency in applying the legal rules.

The group threatened to take separate legal action unless INEC reconsidered its decision.

Meanwhile, Accord is defending its nominations against a lawsuit from National Secretary Adebukola Ajaja.

The party has filed a preliminary objection, arguing she does not have the right to bring the action and that the case was filed too late.

This dispute is about who had the authority to conduct and submit nominations for the party.

It comes after a Federal High Court ruling on 5 October that recognized Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as Accord’s presidential candidate.

The preliminary objection does not change the earlier Federal High Court ruling recognizing Mr Olawepo-Hashim as the party’s presidential candidate.

Unlike the Niger case, which challenges politicians who switched parties, the Kano and Ogun disputes focus on how INEC handled the nominations. Accord’s case is about who was allowed to submit its candidates.

The Niger APC’s case is still in the Federal High Court, while the NDC is pursuing legal action over its governorship ticket exclusion in Kano.

In Ogun, the PDP says it will approach the court this week about Ladi Adebutu’s omission from INEC’s list.

Atiku’s presidential campaign is set to launch in Sokoto on Wednesday, 4 November, after an earlier delay.