2027 Presidential Election: The Final 18 Candidates and Running Mates

Nigeria's presidential ballot is set at 18 candidates. The final list contains 36 names: one presidential candidate and one running mate for each party. Two presidential candidates are women, and four women appear in the running-mate column.

INEC published the list on 12 September 2026. The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for 16 January 2027. This is the final list, rather than the longer collection of aspirants, factional nominees and early party choices reported during the primary season.

Source: INEC final list, reproduced by Channels Television, 12 Sep 2026 ↗

The 18 presidential tickets

The ballot is wider than the leading contest

Public attention is concentrated on Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. The ballot itself is much wider. It includes former Cross River governor Donald Duke, activist Omoyele Sowore, Oyo governor Seyi Makinde and SDP candidate Adewole Adebayo, as well as candidates from 11 smaller parties.

That distinction matters. A description of the race as a three-person contest is an assessment of political strength, not a description of the ballot. Every one of the 18 candidates is listed by INEC as a presidential candidate.

What changed before the final list

The candidate particulars displayed in August were not the last word. The final list no longer contains an NNPP presidential ticket. DLA now lists Moses Olusoji Adebisi rather than Samuel Memeh, while YPP lists Peter Agada rather than Anita Zugwai-Chukwu. APM's running mate is Lawal Musa Daura, replacing the earlier reported Ibrahim Adamu Bala.

Several running mates that were missing from early reporting also appear in the final publication. They include Haruna Garba Magashi for AAC, Nafisat Usaku Abubakar for DLA and Babangida Umaru for PDP.

Compare: presidential Form EC9 particulars published 1 Aug 2026 ↗

Six women, but only two at the top of a ticket

Ada Elizabeth Fredrick Okwori of NDP and Nkem Esther Okereke of NRM are the two female presidential candidates. Peace Egobia Ofordile, Nafisat Usaku Abubakar, Hajja Bintu Konto and Patience Ndidi Key are running mates. Women therefore hold six of the 36 places on the presidential tickets, and two of the 18 presidential slots.

The age range is 35 to 79

DLA candidate Moses Olusoji Adebisi is the youngest presidential candidate on the final list at 35. Atiku Abubakar is the oldest at 79, followed by Bola Tinubu at 74. The running mates range from 35 to 80.

Those figures describe the submitted particulars. They do not tell us which tickets have the deepest organisation, the broadest support or a path through Nigeria's national-vote and geographic-spread tests. The ballot answers who is standing. The campaign and result will answer the rest.

The 2027 elections tracker follows the candidates, their parties and sourced changes through the election.