The African Democratic Congress and Nigeria Democratic Congress will not contest all National Assembly seats in the January 16, 2027 elections, according to the final candidate lists released by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The National Assembly has 109 senatorial seats and 360 House of Representatives constituencies. The NDC, which is fielding Peter Obi for president, has no candidate in 10 senatorial districts and 33 federal constituencies, giving it candidates for 426 of the 469 seats.
The ADC is also absent from one senatorial district and 13 federal constituencies. The affected areas include constituencies in Kano, Bayelsa, Lagos, Edo, Niger and Zamfara, while the party is also not contesting the Delta South Senatorial District.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, however, has candidates in all 109 senatorial districts and 360 federal constituencies. The Allied Peoples Movement is also absent from several races, with no candidates in 47 federal constituencies and five senatorial districts across 18 states.
The final lists show that 462 women are contesting National Assembly seats, comprising 121 senatorial candidates and 341 House of Representatives candidates, compared with 4,402 men. Lagos, Imo and Anambra recorded the highest numbers of female House candidates, with 31, 21 and 20 respectively.
The Peoples Democratic Party is contesting most National Assembly seats but has no candidates in several federal constituencies across states including Abia, Anambra, Borno, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Kano, Ondo, Oyo, Osun and Sokoto. In Osun, for instance, the party has only one candidate across the state’s nine federal constituencies.
Meanwhile, New Nigeria Peoples Party National Chairman Agbo Major said the party voluntarily withdrew its presidential candidate and running mate for strategic reasons. He said the decision was aimed at avoiding distortion of the ballot while the party considers a possible alliance with other political parties.
