INEC disowns fake publication on governorship candidates in six states

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied a publication circulating online purporting to be a special announcement by the commission on governorship candidates in six states.

In a public notice posted on its X handle on Monday, INEC said the publication claimed there were issues affecting the list of governorship candidates in Zamfara, Gombe, Delta, Plateau, Yobe and Kano states.

The commission said the publication was fake and did not originate from it.

It urged members of the public to disregard the publication and refrain from sharing it.

INEC advised the public to rely only on information issued through its verified communication channels, including its website at http://inecnigeria.org, its Facebook page, INEC Nigeria, its X and Instagram handles, @inecnigeria, and its news portal at http://inecnews.com.

The commission also said any information suggesting that it had issued a special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the mentioned states was false.

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It called on the public to remain vigilant and verify all electoral information through its official channels to avoid being misled.

For enquiries, the commission listed its call centre line, 0700-CALL-INEC, short code 4632, phone numbers 090844444333 and 09050858629, email [email protected], and its website and news portal.

On Saturday, the commission published the final list of 936 governorship/deputy governorship candidates and 9,692 State Houses of Assembly candidates nominated by 21 political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

However, the lists published on the INEC website on Saturday night did not include the governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Ogun, Gombe and Kano states.

The affected candidates included the PDP candidate in Ogun State, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu; the PDP candidate in Gombe State, a former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami; and the NDC governorship candidate in Kano State, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo.