INEC’s final candidate list has ignited the 2027 Senate race, naming contenders for 109 seats including outgoing governors and serving party leaders
The Independent National Electoral Commission has published its final list of candidates for the February 2027 general election, and the 2027 Senate race is now a named fight for all 109 seats.
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Parties can see who they face. Campaigns are expected to harden. The next Senate will be shaped by outgoing governors, sitting and former lawmakers, and a thinner line of newcomers.
Several state chief executives who leave office in 2027 are on the ballot. Governor Ahmadu Fintiri is listed for Adamawa North on the All Progressives Congress ticket.
Governor Bala Mohammed of the Allied People’s Movement is down for Bauchi South. Governor Yahaya Inuwa is listed for Gombe North on the APC. Governor Hope Uzodinma is listed for Imo West. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is listed for Kwara Central.
Governor Dapo Abiodun is listed for Ogun East. Governor Abdullahi Sule is listed for Nasarawa North. Governor Mai Mala Buni is listed for Yobe East.
Serving federal figures are also locked in. Senate President Godswill Akpabio is listed for Akwa Ibom North West on the APC, with no Peoples Democratic Party name against him on this list.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin is listed for Kano North. Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele is listed for Ekiti Central. Senate Spokesman Yemi Adaramodu is listed for Ekiti South. Former Speaker and now senator Orji Uzor Kalu is listed again for Abia North.
Other high-profile names include former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for Delta North on the APC, former Governor Adams Oshiomhole for Edo North, former Governor Seriake Dickson of the National Democratic Congress for Bayelsa West, and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the PDP for Kogi Central against former Governor Yahaya Bello of the APC. Enyinnaya Abaribe is listed for Abia South on the Labour Party. Ireti Kingibe is listed for the Federal Capital Territory on the African Democratic Congress against Philip Aduda of the APC.
The list is a starting gun, not a forecast. Some published lines look untidy, including repeated or cramped district labels, and should be checked against INEC’s own tables before they are treated as gospel. Nomination is not election. Turnout, money, local machines and court cases will sort the rest.
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What the commission has done is simpler. The 2027 Senate race now has faces. From February, those names either enter the chamber or they do not.
