The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted the governorship candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) from its final list of eight candidates for the 2027 governorship election in Cross River State.
The list, signed by the Commission’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, and obtained by Vanguard, was released on Saturday.
However, John Upan Odey Jr, the NDC governorship candidate, has attributed his omission to what he described as a bureaucratic error by INEC, saying stakeholders would engage the commission on Monday to resolve the issue.
Odey Jr, who spoke to Vanguard on Sunday, said the omission was not peculiar to Cross River State, claiming that Kano and six other states were also affected.
“The omission is a bureaucratic error by INEC, not peculiar to Cross River. Kano and six other states were also affected. By Monday, INEC and stakeholders will engage to sort out the matter,” he said.
The ADC governorship candidate, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, told Vanguard on the telephone that she would check the list and revert.
The document, titled Final List of Candidates for the 2027 governorship election in Cross River State, contains the names of candidates and their running mates from eight political parties, but excludes the ADC and NDC candidates.
It lists Governor Bassey Edet Otu as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with Hon. Peter Odey Agba as his running mate.
Other parties represented include the Action Alliance (AA), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Peoples Party (APP), Labour Party (LP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Sir Arthur Jarvis Archibong is listed as the PDP governorship candidate, with Alphonsus Eba Ogar as his running mate.
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For each candidate, the document provides details including age, gender, educational qualifications and disability status. The qualifications listed range from First School Leaving Certificates to university degrees, including Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Laws.
The omission of the ADC and NDC candidates had raised questions about their status in the governorship race, as the document did not initially provide reasons for their exclusion.
INEC had not issued an explanation for the omission as of the time of filing this report.
The development comes amid preparations for the 2027 governorship election, with the NDC candidate expressing confidence that engagement with the commission and other stakeholders would resolve the issue.
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