Who is running in 2027? INEC publishes final presidential list
By Emmanuel Oloniruha
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has published the final list of presidential candidates and their running mates for the January 2027 general elections, with 18 political parties featuring in the race for Nigeria’s highest elective office.
The list, signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, was released on Saturday in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Among the presidential candidates listed by the commission are incumbent President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress and Peter Obi of the Nigerian Democratic Congress.
Other male presidential candidates on the list are Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party; Oluseyi Makinde of the Allied People’s Movement; Donald Duke of the People’s Redemption Party; Chibuzor Okereke of the Labour Party; and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress.
The commission’s list also contains two female presidential candidates: Okwori Fredrick of the National Democratic Party and Dr Esther Okereke of the National Redemption Party.
The gender breakdown shows that men constitute the overwhelming majority of the presidential field, with 16 male candidates representing 88.9 per cent, while the two female candidates account for 11.1 per cent.
The pattern is also reflected among the vice-presidential candidates, although the gender gap is narrower.
INEC listed 14 male running mates, representing 77.8 per cent, while four women account for 22.2 per cent of the vice-presidential candidates.
The female running mates listed by the commission are Ofordile Egobia of the Allied Peoples Party, Abubakar Usaku of the Democratic Leadership Alliance, Konto Bintu of the Labour Party and Patience Ndidi of the Young Progressive Party.
The publication of the final list formally sets out the presidential candidates and their running mates participating in the 2027 election under the political parties covered by the commission’s release.
The 2027 presidential contest is expected to attract significant national attention, with Tinubu, Atiku and Obi among the prominent names on the final list.
INEC also released the final lists of candidates contesting the Senate and House of Representatives elections as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.