Final List of Presidential Candidates for 2027 Elections Released

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final list of presidential candidates and their running mates for the general elections set for January 16, 2027.

The list was signed by the Commission's Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, and it came out on Saturday in Abuja. It includes candidates from 18 political parties who will compete for the presidency.

Looking at the gender breakdown of the list, 16 out of the 18 presidential candidates are men, making up 88.9 percent. Only two candidates are women.

The male candidates include Bola Tinubu from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Atiku from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Peter Obi from the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC). Other male candidates are Adewole Adebayo from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Oluseyi Makinde from the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Donald Duke from the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Chibuzor Okereke from the Labour Party (LP), and Omoyele Sowore from the African Action Congress (AAC).

The two female candidates, who make up 11.1 percent of the list, are Okwori Fredrick from the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Esther Okereke from the National Redemption Party (NRM).

When we look at the vice-presidential candidates, the numbers are also notable. There are 14 male running mates, which is 77.8 percent, while only 4 are female, making up 22.2 percent.

The female vice-presidential candidates are Ofordile Egobia from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APP), Usaku Abubakar from the Democratic Labour Party (DLA), Bintu Konto from the Labour Party (LP), and Patience Ndidi from the Young Progressives Party (YPP).

INEC has also released the final list of candidates for the Senate and the House of Representatives.