The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the petitions of Ogun State PDP governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, and Kano State NDC candidate, Aminu Gwarzo, while clearing former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, to contest the 2027 elections.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that the decisions were reached on Thursday after the commission’s marathon management meeting, during which it reviewed 69 petitions from political parties over the omission of candidates from the final lists for governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
INEC stated that 36 petitions were successful, while the rest were rejected. An INEC source disclosed that Adebutu’s petition failed because his name was not included in the list of candidates originally submitted by the PDP, while Gwarzo would have scaled through but for an ex parte order from a Federal High Court barring INEC from publishing his name.
Pantami’s clearance is also subject to the outcome of pending litigation, with a court hearing expected on Friday. INEC is expected to publish the updated list of candidates by Friday.
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