INEC List: Omitted candidates face lost battle

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has advised candidates whose names were excluded from the final list published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept the outcome and not file fresh lawsuits.

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Mr Sani’s reaction followed the publication of the official final list of candidates, which omitted several high-profile politicians.

Reacting to the development via a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Mr Sani claimed that the legal backing granted to the electoral body by the Supreme Court is unambiguous and makes further legal challenges futile.

“The Supreme Court ruling that enabled INEC to exclude some names of candidates is very clear,” Mr Sani stated. “Affected candidates should not waste their money, time and energy fighting a lost battle.”

The former lawmaker also appealed directly to legal practitioners, particularly Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) and barristers, urging them to act in good faith rather than encouraging politicians to embark on costly, unsuccessful litigations.

“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’,” he wrote.

“Four years will come and go; let them strategise for the future.”

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The publication of INEC’s final list generated reactions after several prominent party candidates were omitted across several states due to ongoing party leadership tussles, non-compliance with statutory nomination guidelines, and binding judicial pronouncements.

The Supreme Court had reaffirmed INEC’s mandate to strictly enforce electoral guidelines and adhere only to validly monitored primaries, effectively barring political parties from substituting candidates outside stipulated statutory deadlines or legal orders.

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Prominent names affected include Ladi Adebutu (Ogun State, PDP).

The candidate and his running mate were omitted following ongoing internal litigation and conflicting primary outcomes.

In Gombe State, Isa Pantami’s name was omitted despite winning a court-ordered rerun primary.

The former minister started the election cycle as an aspirant in the APC but defected after alleging irregularities in the primary and was named the PDP candidate.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in Kano State, Aminu Abdulsalam, was similarly left out allegedly due to his party’s non-compliance with candidate submission protocols.