The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the final list of 18 presidential candidates and their running mates for Nigeria’s 2027 general election. The list, signed by the commission’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, was published on Saturday, September 12, 2026, in Abuja. It features candidates sponsored by 18 political parties, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigerian Democratic Congress.Other prominent candidates on the list include Oyo State Governor Oluseyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement, former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party, Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress, Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party, and Sandy Ojang Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party. The commission also listed Sunday Chibuzo Okereke of the Labour Party, Rufai Adekunle Omo-Aje of the Action Alliance, Aliyu Abbas-Bin of the Action Democratic Party, Kabiru Yusuf of the Action Peoples Party, Sunday Adenuga of the Boot Party, Moses Olusoji Adebisi of the Democratic Labour Alliance, Ada Elizabeth Fredrick Okwori of the National Democratic Party, Nkem Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement, Peter Ada Agada of the Young Progressives Party and Daniel Daberechukwu Nwanyanwu of the Zenith Labour Party.According to the published list, 16 of the presidential candidates are male, while two are female. The commission also identified 14 male and four female vice-presidential candidates. Atiku Abubakar, aged 79, and Bola Tinubu, aged 74, are the oldest presidential candidates on the list, while the youngest is Moses Adebisi of the Democratic Labour Alliance, aged 35. The presidential election is scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will take place on February 6, 2027. The release of the final list formally sets the stage for the next phase of political campaigns ahead of the elections.
