Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has advised candidates excluded from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) final list for the 2027 general elections against spending money and energy challenging the decision in court.
Sani said the affected politicians should accept the Supreme Court judgement that empowered INEC to exclude their names and focus on preparing for future elections.
INEC released the final list after its chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, said the commission had received complaints from political parties and aggrieved aspirants over the implications of the Supreme Court judgement on candidates’ eligibility.
Amupitan disclosed at a press conference in Abuja earlier in the week that the commission received a certified true copy of the judgement on Tuesday and was reviewing it to determine its next line of action.
The Supreme Court, in its September 24, 2026 judgement, affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 elections.
Following the ruling, INEC said political parties would be barred from participating in the elections if they fielded candidates whose names were not included in the registers submitted to the commission within the stipulated period.
Speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics on Wednesday evening, INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Malam Mohammed Haruna, said affected parties would also not be permitted to substitute the candidates. He added that parties would not be allowed to benefit from violating the rules.
Among the prominent politicians whose names were missing from the list was former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isah Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who is seeking the governorship of Gombe State.
Pantami, an aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC), defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the ruling party in Gombe State settled for Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna as its consensus candidate.
Other affected politicians include the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo.
Reacting to the development in a post on his social media platforms, Sani described any legal challenge to the decision as a lost battle and urged the affected candidates to reconsider their options.
“The Supreme Court ruling that enabled INEC to exclude some names of candidates is very clear.
“Affected candidates should not waste their money, time and energy fighting a lost battle,” Sani said.
The human rights activist also appealed to lawyers, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), not to encourage the politicians to file fresh suits but to advise them to move on.
“I also wish to appeal to those Barristers and SANs to ‘pity’ those candidates and allow them to rest, and not mislead them into spending more money ‘filing fresh suits’.
“Four years will come and go; let them strategise for the future,” he added.
Sani is the APC candidate for the Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections. He won the party’s primary election in May, defeating his closest challenger, former Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Zailani.
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