The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the list of candidates for the January 16, 2027 National Assembly elections.
Among the high-profile lawmakers seeking another term, are Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
Other principal officers who secured tickets include Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Whip Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Deputy Chief Whip Onyekachi Nwaebonyi and Deputy House Leader Abdullahi Ali.
The candidate list contains 4,864 names for the 469 seats in the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Of the total, 1,304 candidates are contesting the 109 Senate seats, while 3,560 candidates are vying for the 360 seats in the House of Representatives.
A review of the list indicates that about 54 serving senators and 190 members of the House of Representatives secured the All Progressives Congress (APC) tickets to seek re-election.
The fate of several other serving lawmakers, however, reflects the intense competition within the ruling party ahead of the 2027 elections.
The shake-up is particularly evident in the House of Representatives, where a number of lawmakers with considerable legislative experience will not return to the chamber after the elections.
Among those exiting are Nicholas Mutu of Delta State, who has been in the House since 1999; Victor Nwokolo of Delta, who has served since 2011; Peter Akpatson of Edo, also in the House since 2011; and Igarewey Iduma Enwo of Ebonyi, who has served since 2015.
Others include Awaji Nombet Abiante of Rivers State and Khadijat Bukar Abba Ibrahim of Yobe State.
Khadijat’s political career has spanned several years. She represented her constituency in the House from 2007 to 2015 and returned in 2019. She had earlier served as First Lady of Yobe State from 1999 to 2007 before later becoming Minister of State for Foreign Affairs under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The list also points to changes in the leadership structure of the House, with several serving principal officers not returning to the chamber.
They include Julius Ihonvbere, former House Leader from Edo State; Fred Agbedi, Minority Leader from Bayelsa State; Ibrahim Ayokunle Isiaka, Deputy Chief Whip from Ogun State; Abdulsamad Dasuki, Deputy Minority Whip from Sokoto State; and George Ozodinobi, also a Deputy Minority Whip.
Ihonvbere and Isiaka reportedly lost their respective party primaries.
Agbedi, meanwhile, is seeking a Senate seat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction led by Tanimu Turaki.
Dasuki decided not to seek another term, while Ozodinobi’s name was reportedly absent from the list of candidates in Anambra State.
In Kwara State, only Muktar Tolani Shagaya among the six serving members of the House secured an APC ticket to return to the chamber.
The situation is even more striking in Nasarawa State, where none of the five serving members of the House secured an APC return ticket.
Some lawmakers have also abandoned their current seats in pursuit of higher political offices.
Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi of Nasarawa State is contesting the governorship election in the state on the platform of the Labour Party, while Kingsley Chinda is seeking to become governor of Rivers State on the APC platform.
Hassan Naralaba of Nasarawa and Aderemi Oseni of Oyo have also moved from the House race to contest senatorial seats.
Other experienced lawmakers who failed to secure APC tickets to return to the House include Aliyu Ademorin Kuye of Somolu, Lagos State, as well as Tunji Olawoyin and Kayode Tijani Ismail of Kwara State.
Three female members — Zainab Gimba of Borno, Mariam Odinaka Onuoha of Imo and Khadijat Bukar Abba Ibrahim of Yobe — are among the lawmakers who will not be returning to the House under the current arrangement.
The 2027 elections will also introduce some prominent state legislators into the national political arena.
Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, and his Rivers State counterpart, Martin Chike Amaewhule, are among the candidates seeking election to the National Assembly.
While the departure of several serving lawmakers could lead to substantial turnover in the 11th National Assembly, the election is also attracting a large number of new candidates seeking to break into federal politics.
The Senate race alone has produced a highly competitive field.
Kano has the highest number of senatorial candidates with 49, followed by Bayelsa and Imo with 45 each. Delta has 43, while Anambra and Kogi have 42 apiece.
Rivers has 41 candidates, Abia 40, Benue and Osun 39 each, while Adamawa and Enugu have 38 each.
Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Ogun and Zamfara have 37 candidates apiece, while Kaduna, Lagos, Nasarawa and Sokoto each have 36.
At the House of Representatives level, Kano again records the highest number of candidates, with 251 politicians competing for the available seats.
Lagos follows with 184 candidates, while Kaduna and Oyo each have 151. Rivers has 146, Imo 140 and Sokoto 138.
Bauchi has 123 candidates, Benue 118 and Delta 116, while Katsina and Akwa Ibom have 104 and 103 respectively.
The high number of candidates across several constituencies underscores the level of competition expected in the 2027 legislative elections and the potential for significant changes in the political configuration of the National Assembly.
The Peoples Democratic Party, meanwhile, is fielding candidates in 103 of the 109 senatorial districts and 302 of the 360 House of Representatives constituencies.
The party’s participation leaves six senatorial districts and 58 House constituencies without PDP candidates
