Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has advised candidates excluded from the final list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to waste their resources challenging the decision in court.
INEC released the list following a press conference earlier in the week in Abuja, where its chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed that the commission had received complaints from political parties and aggrieved aspirants regarding the implications of a recent Supreme Court judgment on candidate eligibility.
Amupitan said the commission had received the certified true copy of the judgment on Tuesday and was reviewing it to guide its next steps.
*Daily Trust* had reported that the Supreme Court, in a September 24, 2026 judgment, affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6), and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026, while upholding INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections.
*2027: Recall Tinubu’s Electricity Promise Before Voting, Makinde Tells Nigerians*
*2027: Incumbent govts always think they can’t be removed – Amaechi*
Following the judgment, INEC stated that political parties would not be allowed to participate in the 2027 elections if they fielded candidates whose names were missing from party registers submitted within the stipulated period.
Speaking on Trust TV’s *Daily Politics* on Wednesday evening, INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Malam Mohammed Haruna, maintained that affected parties would not be allowed to substitute such candidates, adding that violators would not be permitted to benefit from their infractions.
However, several prominent figures were missing when the final list was released, including former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who is vying for the governorship seat in Gombe State.
Pantami, an All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, had defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the ruling party in the state settled for Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna as its consensus candidate.
Others excluded from the INEC list include the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer in Kano State, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo.
Reacting via his social media handles, Shehu Sani advised the affected politicians to spare themselves a futile legal battle.
“The Supreme Court ruling that enabled INEC to exclude some names of candidates is very clear,” Sani said. “Affected candidates should not waste their money, time, and energy fighting a lost battle.”
The human rights activist also appealed to legal practitioners not to mislead the politicians into filing fresh suits, urging the affected candidates to instead channel their energy into future planning.
“I also wish to appeal to lawyers and SANs to ‘pity’ these candidates, let them rest, and avoid misleading them into spending more money filing fresh suits,” he added. “Four years will come and go; let them strategise for the future.”
Shehu Sani is the APC candidate for the Kaduna Central Senatorial seat in the forthcoming 2027 general elections. He secured the ticket after defeating his closest challenger, former Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Zailani, at the party primaries in May.
