News
2027: INEC Set to Release Governorship, Assembly Candidates
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Saturday, August 29, make public the names of candidates nominated by political parties for the 2027 governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the publication is part of the commission’s preparations for the February 6, 2027 polls and will allow political parties, candidates and members of the public to examine and verify the details submitted to INEC.
The commission is also expecting parties contesting the presidential and National Assembly elections to submit their final lists of candidates on the same day.
The development comes after the August 22 deadline for candidates who intended to withdraw from the 2027 elections.
Under Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2026, any candidate seeking to withdraw must personally submit a written notice to the political party that nominated them.
The notice must be signed by the candidate and accompanied by an affidavit, providing a formal procedure for withdrawals after the nomination process.
INEC is expected to publish the final list of presidential and National Assembly candidates on September 12. The publication will cover those contesting the presidential election as well as Senate and House of Representatives seats.
The commission had earlier taken steps to make information submitted by presidential candidates available for public scrutiny. In August, it displayed the personal particulars, academic credentials and other supporting documents of presidential candidates and their running mates at its offices across the country.
The exercise was conducted in line with Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2026, which requires INEC to publish the personal particulars and supporting documents of candidates in the constituencies where they intend to contest.
The law states: “The Commission shall, within 21 days of the receipt of the personal particulars of the candidate, publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest the election.”
Among the presidential candidates whose documents were displayed were 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.
In the FCT, the Commission displayed the candidates’ names at its headquarters in Abuja.
The exercise was also carried out simultaneously at the six Area Council offices across the FCT, allowing members of the public to examine the credentials and other personal details submitted by candidates.
The move is aimed at strengthening transparency in the electoral process and giving citizens the opportunity to raise concerns over the information provided by those seeking elective positions.
Political parties have also uploaded the names of candidates for the various positions on INEC’s online portal after completing their primaries in accordance with the commission’s timetable.
For the governorship election, 28 states will participate in the 2027 contest, while elections into the State Houses of Assembly will be conducted across all 36 states.
The states where governorship elections will be held are Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Kwara, Benue, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi and Sokoto.
Eight states will, however, be excluded from the 2027 governorship election because of Nigeria’s staggered electoral system. They are Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Bayelsa, Anambra, Imo and Kogi, where governorship elections were conducted at different times.
The 2027 governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6.
A moment of exchange between Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma and his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha, during the APC presidential campaign rally has drawn public attention.
In a video circulating online, Okorocha is heard calling out to Uzodimma, asking, “Governor Hope, didn’t you see me?” apparently suggesting that the governor had failed to acknowledge or greet him.
Uzodimma, however, responded, “You’re a small boy,” amid handshakes and laughter.
The exchange, which appeared to be friendly banter and a light-hearted greeting, comes days after the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified Uzodimma’s emergence as the APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 elections and declared Okorocha the winner of the party’s May 18 senatorial primary.
See video
‘Governor Hope, didn’t you see me? — You’re a small boy’
– Moment Governor Hope Uzodimma and former Governor Rochas Okorocha took digs at each other during the APC presidential campaign rally.
Lol 😂 https://t.co/Ph6vUkFNLx
— Emma ik Umeh (Tcee )🇳🇬 (@emmaikumeh) November 4, 2026
“You’re a small boy” — Uzodimma jokes with Okorocha at APC rally [VIDEO]
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has appointed five new directors to its board as part of efforts to strengthen its operations and support the company’s growth and strategic direction.
The appointees include former Etisalat Nigeria executives, Ibrahim Dikko and Boye Olusanya, who were appointed as independent non-executive directors to the board of the telecommunication company.
The telco giant also appointed corporate governance expert Fabian Ajogwu, Imoni Akpofure and Lwazi Bam as non-executive directors.
The appointments, which take effect from 1 December were disclosed in a regulatory filing signed by the company’s secretary, Uto Ukpanah, on Tuesday.
MTN Nigeria said the new directors were expected to bring their experience and expertise to strengthen the telco giant’s operations.
“The new Directors are expected to bring their wealth of experience and expertise to enhance Board operations and contribute to the Company’s growth and future direction,” MTN Nigeria said.
Profiles
Mr Dikko brings more than three decades of experience spanning banking, telecommunications, information and communications technology, and regulatory advisory.
He served as chairman of First Securities Discount House Limited from 2002 to 2012 and was vice president of regulatory and corporate affairs at EMTS Limited, which operated as Etisalat Nigeria, from 2007 to 2017.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Buckingham and a Master of Laws degree from Queen Mary and Westfield College, and University of London.
Mr Dikko is a Fellow of the Society of Corporate Governance Nigeria and a Member of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.
Boye Olusanya
Mr Olusanya, who currently leads FMN Holdings Limited, has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience across the fast-moving consumer goods, agriculture, telecommunications, technology, energy, infrastructure and financial services sectors.
He has led the strategic transformation of FMN Holdings into a vertically integrated, consumer-focused food and agro-industrial business.
MTN Nigeria said Mr Olusanya’s experience includes enterprise transformation, business restructuring, strategic acquisitions, operational turnaround and regional expansion.
Fabian Ajogwu
Mr Ajogwu is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and professor of corporate governance at Lagos Business School. He is also the senior partner at KENNA LP and has practised law for 35 years.
He assisted the Securities and Exchange Commission in drafting Nigeria’s first Code of Corporate Governance and served on the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria committee that worked on the National Code of Corporate Governance 2018.
Mr Ajogwu is also the founder of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria and has authored several books on corporate governance.
He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Aberdeen, an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona and law degrees from the University of Nigeria and the University of Lagos.
Imoni Akpofure
Ms Akpofure brings nearly three decades of experience in finance, infrastructure and sustainability, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Her career includes senior roles at the International Finance Corporation, CDC Group, now known as British International Investment, and KINA Advisory.
She currently serves on the boards of Africa50 and the Development Bank of Nigeria, where she brings experience in infrastructure investment, sustainable growth and corporate governance.
Lwazi Bam
Mr Bam joined MTN Group as group chief risk officer in June. Before joining the telecommunications group, he served as chief executive officer of Deloitte Africa and Deloitte Southern Africa from 2012 to 2022.
READ ALSO: Access Holdings’ nine-month profit jumps 6% to N474.2 billion
During his nearly three decades at Deloitte, he also served on the firm’s Global Executive Committee and advised organisations on mergers and acquisitions, strategy, governance and risk oversight.
Between 2022 and 2026, he served as a non-executive director on the boards of Standard Bank Group and Valterra Platinum. He currently serves on the boards of Woolworths Holdings Limited and ZEDA Limited.
Mr Bam is a chartered accountant in South Africa and completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.
MTN Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest providers of communications services, connects over 94 million people in communities across the country.
Launched in 2001, the telco operates in 19 markets in Africa and the Middle East, serving over 300 million people.
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