- INEC releases final candidate list for the 2026 Osun governorship election.
- PDP and Labour Party absent from the list released by the commission.
- 14 political parties cleared to participate in the August 8 poll.
- Publication follows the official election timetable issued by INEC.
The INEC final list for the Osun governorship election has been released ahead of the August 8, 2026 poll, but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) were noticeably absent from the candidates approved to contest.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the final list of candidates for the upcoming governorship election in Osun State, scheduled to hold on August 8, 2026.
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However, the list did not include candidates from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or the Labour Party (LP), two of Nigeria’s major political parties.
In a statement released on Friday, the commission’s public relations officer in Osun, Musa Olurode, explained that only candidates from 14 political parties met the requirements to participate in the election.
According to the statement, the political parties cleared for the poll include:
• Accord (A)
• Action Alliance (AA)
• African Action Congress (AAC)
• African Democratic Congress (ADC)
• Action Democratic Party (ADP)
• All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
• All Progressives Congress (APC)
• Allied Peoples Movement (APM)
• Action Peoples Party (APP)
• Boot Party (BP)
• New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)
• Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)
• Young Progressive Party (YPP)
• Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)
Olurode noted that the publication of the final list was carried out in line with the electoral timetable and schedule of activities earlier released by INEC for the governorship election.
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Deadline for Party Primaries
Last month, the commission had already indicated that only parties that successfully conducted their primaries and uploaded the details of their candidates — including running mates — within the stipulated deadline would appear on the final list.
According to INEC, only 14 political parties met the requirements before the deadline expired.
The absence of PDP and Labour Party from the INEC final list for the Osun governorship election has since sparked discussions among political observers about the potential impact on the race.
