2027: INEC Clears 4,408 Candidates For National Assembly Elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared 4,408 candidates to contest the 2027 National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027.

The final list published by the commission shows that 1,195 candidates are contesting the 109 Senate seats, while 3,213 candidates are vying for the 360 seats in the House of Representatives.

The figures released by INEC also reveal a wide gender disparity among the candidates, with 3,965 men and only 443 women cleared to participate in the National Assembly elections.

For the Senate, 1,080 of the 1,195 candidates are men, while women account for only 115 candidates. Similarly, 2,885 men are contesting seats in the House of Representatives, compared with 328 women.

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) recorded the highest number of female candidates across the two chambers, fielding 11 women for Senate seats and 42 for the House of Representatives.

The publication of the final list marks another major step in INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, with political parties now set to intensify campaigns and mobilisation ahead of the polls.

The presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while elections for governors and members of the state Houses of Assembly are scheduled for February 6.

The latest publication follows INEC’s release of the final list of presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2027 presidential election on Saturday.

The presidential list contains 18 candidates representing 18 political parties.

Those cleared include President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Oyo State Governor Oluseyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Sandy Ojang Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

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Other candidates are Rufai Adekunle Omo-Aje of the Action Alliance (AA), Abbas-Bin Aliyu of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Yusuf Kabiru of the Action Peoples Party (APP), Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), Sunday Adenuga of the Boot Party (BP), Adebisi Olusoji of the Democratic Labour Alliance (DLA), Sunday Okereke of the Labour Party (LP), Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peter Agada of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) and Nwanyanwu Daberechukwu of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The list also contains two female presidential candidates: Ada Elizabeth Frederick Okwori of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Nkem Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).

With the National Assembly list now published, attention will shift to the contests across the country’s 109 senatorial districts and 360 federal constituencies.

The 4,408 candidates cleared for the legislative elections will compete for the available seats as parties begin to ramp up their campaigns ahead of the 2027 polls.