Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, Makinde, Sowore, Adebayo and other presidential hopefuls also make INEC’s final list as political parties prepare for a high-stakes electoral battle
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final list of candidates cleared to contest the 2027 National Assembly elections, officially setting the stage for a massive battle for seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.
An analysis of the lists published by the electoral commission shows that 4,408 candidates are contesting the two chambers of the National Assembly, comprising 1,195 Senate candidates and 3,213 House of Representatives candidates.
The figures underline the scale of the political contest ahead, with hundreds of candidates from different political parties seeking to secure mandates from Nigerians across the country.
Of the total number of National Assembly candidates, 3,965 are male, while 443 are female, highlighting the continued disparity in women's representation in Nigeria's electoral politics.
For the Senate, the list contains 1,080 male candidates and 115 female candidates, while the House of Representatives race has 2,885 male candidates and 328 female candidates.
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) recorded the highest number of female candidates among the political parties, fielding 11 women for Senate seats and 42 for the House of Representatives.
The release of the National Assembly list comes shortly after INEC published its final list of presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2027 general elections, further signalling that the country has entered a critical phase of preparations for the polls.
According to the presidential list signed by INEC Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, 18 presidential candidates and their running mates have been cleared to participate in the presidential contest.
Among the notable names on the list are 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 Nigeria 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).
Other candidates include 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 presidential race also features two female candidates: Ada Elizabeth Frederick Okwori of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Nkem Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
With the final lists now published, attention is expected to shift increasingly towards campaigns, voter engagement, issue-based debates and the ability of political parties and their candidates to convince Nigerians ahead of the elections.
INEC's official timetable places the presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
The publication of the final candidate lists therefore marks another major milestone on the road to the 2027 elections, as established political heavyweights, emerging parties and first-time contenders position themselves for what promises to be one of Nigeria's most closely watched electoral contests.
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