The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has excluded the governorship candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) from its final list of cleared candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship election in Cross River State.
The document, titled Final List of Candidates for the 2027 Governorship Election in Cross River State, was officially pasted on the display board at INEC’s State Headquarters along Murtala Mohammed Highway, Calabar, on Sunday, October 11, 2026.
The published list confirms that only eight political parties have been cleared to field candidates for the executive position in the state, excluding notable contenders including Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo of the ADC.
The candidates authorised by INEC to participate in the upcoming governorship election include; All Progressives Congress (APC) Incumbent Governor Bassey Edet Otu (Running mate: Hon. Peter Odey Agba).
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Archibong Arthur Jarvis, Labour Party (LP) Obu Ogar Osim, Action Alliance (AA) Ali Patrick, Action Democratic Party (ADP) Joelyne Ita Hogan-Bassey, Allied Peoples Movement (APM) Esege Ntami Nkanu, Action Peoples Party (APP) Nya Basil Bassey and National Rescue Movement (NRM), Chigbe Chioma Vivian.
Addressing journalists on Sunday afternoon at the party’s state secretariat in Calabar, Hon. John Upan Odey Jr., speaking on behalf of party stakeholders, described the omission as an administrative oversight on the part of the electoral body.
”The omission is a bureaucratic error by INEC and is not peculiar to Cross River State. Kano and six other states were also affected by similar technical hitches in the portal transmission. By Monday, INEC and key political party stakeholders will engage in Abuja to sort out the matter and ensure proper rectifications,” Odey stated.
Reacting to the development via telephone, the ADC governorship candidate, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, noted that her legal team and party officials were scrutinizing the document published at the INEC headquarters.
”We have been made aware of the published list. My team and party leadership are examining the details, and we will issue an official statement after engaging the electoral umpire,” Ambassador Toyo said.
Meanwhile, legal analyst and former Special Assistant to the President, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, released a statement in Calabar highlighting that the initial candidate submissions from the affected parties failed to satisfy procedural requirements set out in the Electoral Act.
INEC officials at the Calabar headquarters declined formal broadcast comments, noting that official communications regarding corrections or supplementary list updates will be handled through the commission’s national headquarters in Abuja following scheduled stakeholder engagements on Monday.
