Precious Nwonu, Enugu
The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the final list of candidates contesting the 2027 National Assembly elections, with 4,408 candidates cleared to vie for seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.
An analysis of the candidate documents published by the electoral body showed that 1,195 candidates are contesting Senate seats, while 3,213 are seeking election into the House of Representatives.
The publication comes as political parties step up preparations for the 2027 general elections, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027.
INEC’s timetable also fixed February 6, 2027, for the governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
The figures released by the commission show a significant gender gap among the candidates, with 3,965 men and 443 women contesting the National Assembly seats.
For the Senate, 1,080 candidates are male, while 115 are female.
The House of Representatives list comprises 2,885 male candidates and 328 female candidates.
The Allied Peoples Movement recorded the highest number of female candidates across the two chambers, with 11 women contesting Senate seats and 42 seeking election into the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, INEC has also published the final list of presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The list, signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, contains 18 presidential candidates and their running mates across various political parties.
Among the presidential candidates are President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Oyo State Governor Oluseyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement, Sandy Ojang Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party and former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party.
Other candidates include Rufai Adekunle Omo-Aje of the Action Alliance, Abbas-Bin Aliyu of the Action Democratic Party, Yusuf Kabiru of the Action Peoples Party, Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress, Sunday Adenuga of the Boot Party, Adebisi Olusoji of the Democratic Labour Alliance, Sunday Okereke of the Labour Party, Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party, Peter Agada of the Young Progressive Party and Nwanyanwu Daberechukwu of the Zenith Labour Party.
Ada Elizabeth Frederick Okwori of the National Democratic Party and Nkem Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement are the two female presidential candidates listed by the commission.
The release of the various candidate lists marks another stage in INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.