• Commission denies issuing access codes to political parties, LP sues electoral body over exclusion
Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidates were missing in the list released by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the June 20 by-elections in different parts of the country.
INEC cleared 20 candidates to contest in the legislative by-election.
A list of cleared candidates announced by secretary to the commission, Rose Orianran-Anthony, showed that for Zuru state constituency in Kebbi State, Garba Rabiu (All Progressives Congress) and Aliyu Galadima Muhammed (Labour Party) were cleared by the commission to contest the election.
Osarosaka Erewari of APC, Sam Barikpoa of Labour Party, and Nwogu Johnson of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were cleared by the commission to contest Rivers South state constituency seat made vacant by the death of Douglas Beeka (Action Alliance).
Former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku of Labour Party, Emmanuel Ombugadu of PDP, Halilu Envulu-Aza of APC, John Araneshri of New Nigeria Peoples Party were cleared to contest the Nasarawa North Senatorial seat.
Those cleared for Ondo North Senatorial District vacated by Nigeria’s Ambassador to UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, were Adesanya Olaoluwa (Action Peoples Party), Faduyile Adedayo (APC), Akinwunmi Harrison (Allied Peoples Movement), and Funso Clement (Boot Party).
For Enugu North Senatorial District, which became vacant as a result of death, Asogwa Israel of APC, Anele Chukwuma (Boot Party), and Ezeme Chika of PDP were cleared for the contest.
In Kano State, the electoral body also cleared Rabiu Shuaibu of APC, Lawal Garba of APM, and Abubakar Mohammed of Labour Party to contest Dawakin Kudu/Warawa federal constituency seat in the House of Representatives
Meanwhile, the commission denied reports in some sections of the media that it had sent access codes to political parties to start uploading the names and particulars of their candidates for the 2027 general election.
The revised timetable and schedule of activities released by the commission showed that the parties were expected to start collecting the access code from 9am on June 27 for the presidential and National Assembly elections and July 18 for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly election.
But National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Jagunda Mohammed, was quoted as saying the commission had provided the party led by Abdulrahman Mohammed with the access code, a move he said validated the legitimacy of the group’s leadership.
Nevertheless, the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of PDP protested the alleged issuance of the access code to the Mohammed led leadership.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said no code had been issued to the parties.
Haruna said, “We have not yet issued any access to any party. As a matter of fact, we’ve scheduled a meeting with all the parties for tomorrow at 11am.”
In another development, Labour Party dragged INEC before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the exclusion of its candidate from the Enugu North Senatorial District by-election scheduled for June 20.
That was contained in a statement by National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Ken Asogwa, in Abuja.
The senatorial seat became vacant following the death of Senator Okey Ezea on November 18, 2025, prompting INEC to fix a by-election to fill the vacancy.
The party said it complied with all electoral guidelines by notifying INEC on May 11 of its planned primary election, which was held on May 25 to select a candidate for the poll.
It explained that Ambassador Simon Ejike Eze emerged as its consensus candidate during the primary, which it described as well-attended by party members from the six local government areas in the senatorial district.
Labour Party alleged that despite meeting all requirements, it was denied access to INEC’s nomination portal to upload its candidate’s particulars before the June 2 submission deadline.
It emphasised that several attempts, including formal protests and correspondences to the electoral commission, failed to resolve the issue, leading it to seek judicial intervention.
It further expressed concern over reports that Head of Elections and Party Monitoring in Enugu State declined to transmit the report of its primary election because he was reportedly out of town and unable to monitor the exercise.
It described the explanation as unacceptable, insisting that political parties should not be punished for the absence or failure of electoral officials to carry out their responsibilities.
The party stated that the Electoral Act only required parties to notify INEC of their primaries, stressing that the validity of its primary election cannot be undermined by the commission’s inability to monitor the exercise.
While reaffirming confidence in INEC’s leadership and the judiciary, Labour Party called for investigation into the conduct of officials involved. It urged its members and supporters to remain peaceful as the court determines the matter.
