2027 Elections: 1,303 Candidates to Jostle for 109 Senate Seats — INEC

Nigeria’s electoral body has thrown open the doors to the next Senate race, publishing a full roster of 1,303 aspirants who will fight for the 109 seats plus the Federal Capital Territory slot in the 2027 general elections.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission confirmed that candidates from 21 registered parties made the cut. 

The list paints a picture of intense multi-party competition rather than a two-horse contest. 

The All Progressives Congress fielded a candidate in every single senatorial district, posting the maximum 109 names. Close behind came the African Democratic Congress with 108 and the Allied Peoples Movement with 104. 

The Peoples Democratic Party secured 101 slots, while the Social Democratic Party, Action Democratic Party and others filled out the remaining places in decreasing numbers. 

Smaller platforms such as the Boot Party and Young Progressives managed only a handful of candidates each.

“This release marks the official starting gun for the upper chamber contest,” an INEC official said in a statement accompanying the publication. 

“Every name on this list has cleared the preliminary requirements. The electorate will now decide.”

Familiar political heavyweights dominate the early conversation. Senate President Godswill Akpabio appears again, as does his deputy Barau Jibrin. 

Former Edo governor Adams Oshiomhole, ex-Zamfara governor and Tinubu campaign director-general Abdulaziz Yari, former Senate President Ahmed Lawan, and Bayelsa’s Seriake Dickson also feature. 

Other notable entrants include Aliyu Wamakko, Orji Kalu, Kogi Central’s Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, former aviation minister Stella Oduah, Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma, ex-Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and Gombe Governor Inuwa Yahaya.

Political analyst Funke Adebayo observed: “The sheer volume of returning office holders and former governors signals that the Senate remains a prized destination for experienced politicians. Voters will have clear choices between continuity and change.”

The presidential and National Assembly polls are fixed for 16 January 2027. Governorship and state assembly elections follow on 6 February 2027. 

With the candidate lists now public, parties and aspirants move into the next phase of campaigning, primaries having already concluded.

The publication of the 1,303-name list gives Nigerians an early, transparent view of who will seek to shape the country’s next Senate.