A total of 4,863 candidates from 22 registered political parties are set to compete for 469 seats in Nigeria’s National Assembly during the 2027 general elections.
However, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), associated with former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, will not participate in several constituencies across the country.
An examination of the final candidate lists released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shows that the NDC failed to present candidates in 10 senatorial districts and 30 House of Representatives constituencies spread across 15 states.
Although the party has 429 candidates on the final list, its absence from some constituencies means it will not be represented in every National Assembly contest.
The affected senatorial districts include Bauchi South, Bauchi Central and Bauchi North in Bauchi State, Benue North East, Ekiti South, Jigawa North East, Kaduna South, Katsina Central, Yobe East and Yobe North.
The party also has no candidates in 30 federal constituencies across states including Bauchi, Borno, Ekiti, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) leads the candidate list with 469 contestants, making it the only political party with representation across all 109 senatorial districts and 360 federal constituencies.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) follows with 454 candidates, comprising 108 senatorial candidates and 346 House of Representatives contestants. However, it is also absent from Delta South Senatorial District and 14 federal constituencies across seven states.
Other political parties with significant numbers of candidates include the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has 417, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), with 416.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has 352 candidates, while the Action Democratic Party (ADP) has 348. The Labour Party (LP) and National Rescue Movement (NRM) have 238 and 237 candidates, respectively.
Other parties include Accord with 226 candidates, African People’s Party (APP) with 225, Young Progressives Party (YPP) with 203 and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) with 156.
The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has 127 candidates, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Action Alliance (AA) have 103 each.
The remaining parties include the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), National Democratic Party (NDP), African Action Congress (AAC), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Boot Party and Youth Party.
The National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, alongside the presidential election.
Prominent political figures expected to feature in the 2027 presidential contest include President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the ADC and Peter Obi of the NDC.
