ABUJA — The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has formally signalled its intention to engage the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the conspicuous omission of its governorship candidates in Oyo, Bauchi, Benue, and Sokoto states from the final list of candidates for the February 6, 2027, governorship elections. The party is also addressing the absence of some of its state constituency candidates, framing the issue as an “unexpected error” that it expects to resolve within the corrective window provided by law.
The development comes days after INEC published its final list of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates on Saturday, October 10, 2026. That publication has triggered a wave of complaints from multiple parties and candidates across several states, highlighting ongoing tensions around nomination processes, compliance with the Electoral Act 2026, and the practical implementation of recent Supreme Court rulings on party membership registers.
In a statement and interviews over the weekend, SDP National Publicity Secretary Araba Rufus Aiyenigba confirmed that the party has begun activating corrective measures. He specifically invoked the 14-day window under the Electoral Act 2026 that allows a registered political party to notify INEC in writing—signed by its National Chairman and Secretary and supported by an affidavit—when the name of a validly nominated candidate is missing from the published list.
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“Regrettably, SDP governorship candidates for four states were omitted — Benue, Oyo, Bauchi and Sokoto — and also some of our candidates in a number of state constituencies,” Aiyenigba said.
“This unexpected error, undeniably, has elicited worries amongst our supporters in the states affected. The affected candidates have been assured that the error is being addressed with the deserved seriousness, and there are high assurances that the corrections will be effected promptly by the commission. The party has commenced the process of activating the corrective measures, exploring the 14-day window provision of the Electoral Act 2026 to correct errors noted in the publication.”
He urged affected candidates to reassure their supporters and to sustain campaign activities while the administrative process unfolds. Among the high-profile names missing are Professor Sebastine Hon, SAN, the SDP’s sole governorship candidate in Benue State, and Mogaji Olusegun Agboola in Oyo State. In Bauchi, the party had nominated Abdullahi Yakubu (with Yahaya Abubakar Maikobi as running mate). Details on the Sokoto candidate were less prominently reported in the immediate aftermath, but the party confirmed the omission there as well.
Profiles of the Affected Candidates & State Contexts
In Benue, Professor Sebastine Hon, SAN, brings significant legal and institutional weight to the race. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria with more than three decades at the Bar and 18 years as SAN, Hon has also served as Pro-Chancellor of Benue State University. He emerged as the SDP’s consensus candidate after defecting from the PDP amid disputes over that party’s primaries. His campaign has focused heavily on security—vowing to reclaim communities affected by violence, support displaced farmers, and revive the state’s agricultural economy through public-private partnerships and the Build-Operate-Transfer model.
Hon has publicly described the omission as a “minor error,” stating that he has engaged INEC directly and received assurances of prompt correction. He noted that the names of most SDP state constituency candidates from the same primary process were published, and that he was the unchallenged sole aspirant for the governorship.
Benue’s list features about a dozen candidates, including incumbent Governor Hyacinth Alia (APC), who is seeking re-election. The SDP’s historical footprint in the state—having produced former Governor Moses Orshio Adasu in the short-lived Third Republic—gives Hon’s bid a symbolic resonance even as the party remains a smaller player against the dominant APC and PDP.
In Oyo State, Mogaji Olusegun Agboola replaced the party’s earlier nominee, Michael Okunlade, at a substitution plenary in Ibadan in early September 2026. Agboola, an Ibadan indigene with a private-sector background, has campaigned on “system-based thinking” rather than what he calls “pedestrian” or temporary fixes. He has emphasised strengthening local governments as service centres, human capital development, and long-term economic systems that convert residents’ skills into sustainable opportunities. Reacting to the omission, Agboola called it a clerical error with a significant impact on morale but not on the party’s resolve. “It is a minor error with a big impact on morale, but not one that will knock our confidence… We are still in the race,” he said, while urging supporters to remain calm.
Oyo’s published list includes 16 candidates, among them APC’s Alli Sharafadeen Abiodun and PDP’s Gbolarumi Hazeem Ola. Agboola has repeatedly stressed that the SDP is not in the race for political bargaining or ticket-selling but intends to compete to win.
In Bauchi, the omission is part of a wider exclusion of four parties—SDP, NNPP, Action Alliance, and Accord Party—from a list of 15 candidates. INEC has not publicly explained the reasons, though the parties had earlier submitted nominations. Bauchi is currently governed by Bala Mohammed (PDP), and the race is expected to be competitive as the state prepares for a successor.
Sokoto’s list contains a larger field (around 17 candidates in related reporting), including incumbent Governor Ahmed Aliyu (APC). The absence of the SDP candidate there fits the same pattern the party is challenging.
Nomination Controversies & Electoral Act 2026
The SDP’s complaint is not isolated. INEC’s final list has left out or excluded candidates from several parties in multiple states. Notable cases include PDP’s Isa Pantami in Gombe and Ladi Adebutu in Ogun, as well as issues involving the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kano. These omissions have been linked by observers and parties to the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026, judgment restoring key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026—specifically Sections 77(5), (6), (7), and 84(2)—which require parties to submit membership registers to INEC within a prescribed period before primaries and restrict participation and candidacy to those on the submitted registers. Parties that fail to comply risk being unable to field candidates.
INEC has indicated that it will enforce the restored provisions strictly and that affected parties may not be allowed to substitute candidates in certain circumstances. At the same time, the Act provides the specific 14-day notification mechanism the SDP is invoking for cases of missing names of already-nominated candidates. Legal analysts note that pre-election disputes remain subject to strict constitutional timelines (including the 14-day limitation under Section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution), and the Federal High Court has recently issued updated Practice Directions aimed at speeding up such matters.
For smaller or emerging parties like the SDP—which fielded a presidential candidate in 2023 and has been rebuilding structures under its current leadership—these technical and administrative hurdles carry outsized political costs. The party has positioned itself as an alternative platform free of the internal crises that have plagued some larger parties, yet it still faces the practical challenges of ensuring full compliance and visibility on the ballot.
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Implications and Next Steps
The 14-day window is now the immediate focus. If the SDP successfully notifies INEC with the required documentation and the commission accepts the corrections, the candidates’ names could be restored administratively without litigation. Failure to resolve the matter promptly could force the party into court, consuming resources and potentially dampening grassroots momentum in the four states at a time when campaigns are intensifying.
Candidates themselves have struck a measured tone—emphasising continuity of mobilisation while expressing confidence in a swift fix. Supporters in the affected states, however, have voiced understandable anxiety about representation and the integrity of the process.
As Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections, with presidential and National Assembly polls scheduled earlier in the cycle and governorship/State Assembly elections on February 6, these list controversies serve as an early stress test of the Electoral Act 2026’s new rules and INEC’s administrative capacity. For the SDP, the engagement with INEC is both a practical necessity and a public demonstration of its determination to remain a viable contender. How quickly and transparently the commission responds will shape not only the party’s fortunes in Oyo, Bauchi, Benue, and Sokoto, but also broader confidence in the fairness of the candidate clearance process nationwide.
The coming days will reveal whether the omissions prove to be correctable clerical or procedural gaps—or the start of more protracted pre-election battles.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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