Omitted Candidates: PDP, LP, ADC, Others Beat INEC Correction Deadline

Major opposition political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Action Democratic Party (ADP), have complied with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) October 24 deadline to rectify candidate details omitted from its official register.
​The compliance follows the electoral umpire’s recent publication of candidate lists, which omitted key party flagbearers, including PDP governorship candidates Oladipupo Adebutu (Ogun State) and Prof. Isa Pantami (Gombe State), alongside several House of Assembly candidates nationwide.
​Parties Affirm Full Compliance
​Confirming the development, PDP National Organising Secretary, Capt. Umar Bature (retd), stated that the party completed all required corrections well within the stipulated timeframe.
​”Yes, we met the deadline since,” Bature said, confirming that documentation for omitted governorship and assembly candidates had been filed.
​Spokespersons for other affected opposition parties confirmed similar filings:
​Labour Party (LP): National Publicity Secretary Ken Asogwa stated that the party remains in “good standing with INEC on matters relating to the correction of names and replacement of candidates,” expressing optimism ahead of the general elections.
​National Democratic Congress (NDC): National Publicity Secretary Osa Director confirmed that the party met the commission’s operational cutoff.
​Action Democratic Party (ADP): National Chairman Engr. Yabagi Yusuf Sani confirmed compliance, stating that all documentation was submitted on schedule.
​Parties Await Final Verification from Abuja
​Despite the submissions, candidate status updates remain pending for several key figures, including ADC governorship candidate for Cross River State, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, and NDC candidate John Upan.
​Ambassador Toyo noted that while all regulatory requirements were met prior to the October 24 deadline, the commission has yet to publish the updated candidate list.
​”They gave us the deadline of October 24… and I had done all that they asked for, but they have not brought out any information. Let’s wait for them,” she said.
​When contacted, the Head of Voter Education for INEC in Cross River State, Mr. Osaro Aisen, explained that candidate validation and legal verification are being coordinated directly from the commission’s national headquarters in Abuja.
​”The whole thing is handled from Abuja and it is a legal matter,” Aisen said, adding that official updates are expected following review.