INEC releases final list of 18 Presidential candidates for 2027 elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the final list of presidential candidates and their running mates for the January 2027 general elections.

The ​‌⁠​‌‍⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‍​‍​⁠‌​list, signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, released on Saturday in Abuja, featured candidates sponsored by 18 political parties competing for the office.

The gender distribution of the list showed that out of the 18 presidential flag bearers, 16 are male, representing 88.9 per cent, while two are female.

What the list shows

The male contenders on the list include: Bola Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Atiku of African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Peter Obi of Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).

• Others are: Adewole Adebayo of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Oluseyi Makinde of Allied People’s Movement (APM), Donald Duke of People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Chibuzor Okereke of Labour Party (LP) and Omoyele Sowore of African Action Congress (AAC).
• The only two female presidential candidates, which constitute 11.1% of the number, are: Okwori Fredrick of National Democratic Party (NDP) and Dr Esther Okereke of National Redemption Party (NRM).
• The gender statistics of the vice-presidential candidates also shows that a total of 14 running mates are male, representing 77.8 per cent, while only four, representing 22.2 per cent, are female.

The female vice-presidential candidates are: Ofordile Egobia (APP), Abubakar Usaku (DLA), Konto Bintu (LP) and Patience Ndidi (YPP).

Get up to speed

Earlier in February this year, INEC released a revised timetable for the 2027 General Elections, fixing the presidential and National Assembly polls for Saturday, January 16, 2027, a forward move from February 20, 2027, earlier announced.

Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were moved from March 6 to February 6, 2027.

The revised timetable came two weeks after the electoral umpire had earlier set dates for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

INEC said the revision followed the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022, and the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026, which updated timelines for pre-election activities.

According to the timetable, campaigns for presidential and National Assembly candidates were to start on August 19, 2026, while campaigns for governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates were scheduled to start on September 9, 2026.

What you should know

Earlier in the year, INEC informed the National Assembly that it requires N873.78 billion to conduct the 2027 general elections, along with N171 billion to fund its operations in 2026.

The proposed N873.78 billion represents a significant increase from the N313.4 billion released for the 2023 elections.

The budget highlights the scale and financial demands of conducting nationwide elections under the revised timetable and the new legal framework.