The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the final list of candidates for the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, setting the stage for a crowded contest featuring 18 presidential tickets and 4,860 legislative aspirants.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is fielding candidates for all 469 National Assembly seats, a move observers described as a “declaration of intent” to dominate the legislature alongside the presidency.
President Bola Tinubu, 74, and Vice President Kashim Shettima, 59, headline the APC ticket as they seek a second term.
They face a familiar trio of challengers: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 79, running on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) platform, with Rotimi Amaechi, 61, as his deputy; and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, 65, of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), paired with former Kano Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, 69.
Two women are on the presidential ballot: Ada Elizabeth Fredrick Okwori of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Nkem Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
Four parties—Young Progressive Party (YPP), Labour Party (LP), Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), and Advanced Progressive Party (APP)—have female vice-presidential candidates.
Notable omissions include the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), whose provisional list had named Dikwa Suleiman Mohammed and Abubakar Isa; their names were dropped without explanation in the final list.
Three parties—Accord, All Progressive Grand Alliance, and Youth Party—fielded no presidential candidates at all.
The oldest presidential candidate is Atiku Abubakar at 79; the youngest is 35-year-old Daniel Daberechukwu Nwanyanwu of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
INEC’s list shows 4,860 candidates vying for 109 Senate and 360 House of Representatives seats.
The APC is contesting every seat (469 total), while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 405 candidates (103 Senate, 302 House), the NDC 430 (103 Senate, 327 House), and the ADC 327 (107 Senate, 220 House). The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) fields 335 candidates (103 Senate, 232 House).
High-profile incumbents cleared to run include Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu—all on the APC platform.
Six sitting Governors are contesting Senate seats: AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa).
They are joined by at least 12 former governors, including Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta North), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North), Mukhtar Ramalan Yero (Kaduna North), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano Central), and Muhammadu Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central).
Long-serving lawmakers such as Sen. Ali Ndume (Borno West, first elected 2003) and human rights activist Sen. Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) also secured spots.
NewsQuest gathered that several principal officers of the House will not return: Edo House Leader Julius Ihonvbere and Ogun Deputy Chief Whip Ibrahim Ayokunle Isiaka lost primaries; Bayelsa Minority Leader Fred Agbedi opted for a Senate run on the PDP platform; Sokoto Deputy Minority Whip Abdulsamad Dasuki chose not to recontest; and Anambra’s George Ozodinobi’s name was missing from the list.
Party switches and replacements were common. The DLA and YPP changed both presidential and vice-presidential candidates; the NRM, APM, and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) replaced only their vice-presidential picks. In Delta State, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa (APC, Delta North), former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege (NDC, Delta Central), and former State Speaker Victor Ochei (NDC, Delta North) are among prominent Senate contenders.
Kano leads with 251 House candidates and 49 Senate aspirants. Lagos has 184 House and 36 Senate candidates. Rivers features 146 House and 41 Senate contenders. while Oyo totals 189 legislative candidates (38 Senate, 151 House), with six parties fielding full slates across all seats.
Delta has 159 candidates (43 Senate, 116 House), including multiple former lawmakers. FCT sees 58 candidates for three seats: 19 for Senate and 22 for the AMAC/Bwari House seat alone.
In Kwara Central, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (APC) and former ally Sen. Salihu Mustapha (PDP) will face off directly.In Kogi, 136 candidates contest nine House and three Senate seats.
While two women are presidential candidates, female representation remains limited among legislative tickets. In the FCT, for example, only a handful of the 58 candidates are women, including Muoneme Juliet Hassana (PRP) and Austen Peters-Pam Amanda (NDC).
The INEC list indicates potentially competitive races in constituencies where serving or former lawmakers are seeking to retain or reclaim seats—particularly in Delta, Oyo, and Kwara.
The NDC, meanwhile, has no candidates in 10 senatorial districts nationwide, including Bauchi South, Bauchi Central, Bauchi North, Benue North East, Ekiti South, Jigawa North East, Kaduna South, Katsina Central, and Yobe East.
With the candidate list finalized, parties now shift to campaigning ahead of January 16, 2027.
The APC’s decision to contest every National Assembly seat underscores its ambition to control both the executive and legislature, while the PDP, NDC, ADC, and APM aim to leverage regional strongholds and high-profile candidates to challenge that dominance.
The presence of 18 presidential tickets—spanning established giants and smaller parties signals a fragmented but highly competitive election cycle, with implications for coalition-building, voter mobilization, and ultimately, governance after the polls.
