INEC rejects Adebutu, clears Pantami, Gwarzo

From Romanus Ugwu

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rose from a marathon meeting on Thursday, giving a nod to former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ali Pantami and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, Abdulsalam Gwarzo, to contest the 2027 general elections.

It was, however, bad news for the Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, who sought a review of his exclusion from the list of candidates, as the commission rejected him.

Although the commission cleared Pantami and Gwarzo, the electoral umpire noted that the clearance is subject to the outcomes of pending court cases.

The commission, after the management meeting on Thursday, disclosed that it had received 69 petitions from political parties concerning omitted candidates for governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.

Revealing that about 36 petitions were successful while the others failed, a source from the electoral umpire said: “We received a total of 69 petitions from political parties. Some of them were successful, I think about 36, and the rest didn’t succeed.”

Despite the resolution, the source in the commission said that INEC would still await the final figures from its legal department, which is working on the statement to be issued on the decisions.

Speaking on the clearance of Pantami and Gwarzo, the source disclosed that the commission had no objection to their candidacies but said the pending court cases could affect their eligibility.

Asked about the status of the Gombe State PDP governorship candidate, the source simply replied: “Yes, Pantami has been cleared.”

The source, speaking about Gwarzo, noted that although he had been cleared, his clearance remained subject to the outcome of the litigation involving his candidacy.

“Because of the court case, the court may rule otherwise. So, his approval is subject to whatever the court finally decides,” the source quipped.

The INEC source further added that the commission had no issues with either candidate contesting the election, pending the resolution of the legal matters, explaining: “But we have no issues with their contesting as candidates.”

On Adebutu’s petition, the source noted that it was unsuccessful, explaining: “He did not succeed.”

The candidates and their political parties were affected when the electoral umpire omitted their names from the list of successful candidates published ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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