INEC Confirms 18 Presidential Candidates for Nigeria’s 2027 Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed 18 candidates for Nigeria’s presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027. The field includes familiar political figures, long-time aspirants, and several names that will be new to many voters. Below is a look at each candidate and the party they will represent.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu – All Progressives Congress (APC)

Tinubu is the incumbent president, having held office since 2023, and is seeking a second term. His political career spans decades. He was elected to the Senate in 1992 on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform, representing Lagos West. After the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, he became involved in the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). He left the country in 1994 during the General Sani Abacha military era and returned in 1998.

In 1999, he won the Lagos governorship on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform and served two terms until 2007. He later became a key figure in the creation of the Action Congress (AC), which became the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). In 2013, the ACN joined the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and other groups to form the All Progressives Congress (APC), which defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 presidential election.

According to the credentials he submitted to INEC, Tinubu was born in 1952 and holds a BSc in Business Administration from Chicago State University, obtained in 1979.

Atiku Abubakar – African Democratic Congress (ADC)

Atiku is a former vice president who served from 1999 to 2007 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He has pursued the presidency repeatedly since the 1990s. He contested the SDP presidential primary in 1993, ran under the Action Congress (AC) in 2007, sought the PDP ticket in 2011, contested the APC primary in 2015, and was the PDP flag bearer in 2019 and 2023.

For 2027, he is running on the African Democratic Congress platform, with former Minister of Transport and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.

Peter Obi – Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC)

Obi was governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, a tenure briefly interrupted by impeachment and his subsequent reinstatement by the courts. Before entering politics, he worked in banking and business. He was Atiku Abubakar’s running mate on the PDP ticket in the 2019 presidential election before leaving the party for the Labour Party in 2022.

His 2023 Labour Party campaign made him one of the biggest names in Nigerian politics, with the “Obidient” movement becoming a major force online and offline. In December 2025, Obi left the Labour Party to join the ADC. That move was short-lived, as he moved to the NDC in May 2026, citing a desire to avoid the internal crisis and litigation the ADC was facing. He is contesting under the Nigeria Democratic Congress, with former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso as his running mate.

Seyi Makinde – Allied People's Movement (APM)

Before becoming governor, Makinde studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Lagos and graduated in 1990. He worked with Shell and other oil and gas companies before founding Makon Engineering and Technical Services in 1997, which grew into the Makon Group.

His first major attempts at elective office came before his governorship. He contested the Oyo South senatorial seat in 2007 and sought the PDP ticket for the same seat in 2011, but neither attempt resulted in a nomination or election victory. He later ran for Oyo State governor under the Social Democratic Party in 2015 but lost. Makinde eventually secured the PDP’s governorship ticket and won the Oyo State governorship in 2019. He was re-elected in 2023 and is now serving his second term. For 2027, he is seeking the presidency under the APM.

Sandy Onor – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

Onor is a former senator representing Cross River Central and a former PDP governorship candidate in Cross River State. His political career has stretched from local government to the state executive and federal legislature. He was chairman of Etung Local Government Area, served as a commissioner for Agriculture and later Environment in Cross River State, and represented Cross River Central in the Senate from 2019 to 2023.

He is also an academic, having studied History at the University of Calabar and obtained a PhD in History from the same institution. In May 2022, he emerged as the PDP’s candidate for the Cross River governorship and challenged the eventual winner, Bassey Otu, in the 2023 election. He became the PDP’s 2027 presidential candidate by consensus in May 2026.

Omoyele Sowore – African Action Congress (AAC)

Sowore is a journalist, activist and founder of Sahara Reporters. His political activism dates back to his university days, when he participated in student protests at the University of Lagos. He later founded Sahara Reporters and became one of Nigeria’s most prominent government critics.

He founded the African Action Congress in 2018 and ran for president under the party in both 2019 and 2023. He is now making a third attempt at the presidency. His activism has also included the #RevolutionNow protests, for which he was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) in 2019. His INEC credentials include a master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University and a BSc in Geography and Regional Planning from the University of Lagos.

Adewole Adebayo – Social Democratic Party (SDP)

Adebayo is a lawyer and businessman who was also the SDP’s presidential candidate in 2023. He is back for another attempt under the same party. His political agenda has included economic diversification, industrialisation, agriculture and constitutional reforms.

Donald Duke – Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)

Duke governed Cross River State from 1999 to 2007, winning two terms on the PDP platform. His administration became associated with tourism, urban development, investment and infrastructure in the state. He later sought the presidency in 2019 under the Social Democratic Party, after leaving the PDP.

In January 2026, he followed Peter Obi to the ADC but departed shortly after to join the PRP, where he has now secured the party’s presidential ticket. His INEC credentials show that he studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Ada Elizabeth Frederick Okwori – National Democratic Party (NDP)

Okwori is the founder, promoter and chairman of the NDP. The party’s registration became part of her political story after INEC initially rejected its application. Okwori and the party challenged the decision in court, and the Federal High Court later ordered INEC to register the party in a ruling on February 16, 2026. She is now taking that political project into the presidential race.

Peter Agada – Young Progressives Party (YPP)

Agada is an architect and businessman who has said he wants to focus on production, grassroots development and getting young Nigerians into the economy. He is also a former Labour Party presidential aspirant who joined the YPP in June 2026 after being disqualified from the Labour Party’s presidential primary.

Agada was not initially the party’s choice for the 2027 presidential race. The YPP first picked Anita Zugwai-Chukwu as its presidential candidate in May 2026. She later withdrew from the race, citing security concerns and the public exposure she would face during the campaign. The party subsequently held a substitution primary, which Agada won, making him its presidential candidate.

Rufai Adekunle Omoaje – Action Alliance (AA)

Omoaje is the national chairman of the AA and a politician from Ede, Osun State. He emerged as the party’s presidential candidate through a consensus arrangement at its May 2026 convention. His campaign has focused on good governance, national unity, economic development and tackling insecurity.

His political journey has also included a turbulent period within the AA. On February 22, 2025, the party expelled him over alleged misconduct and anti-party activities, before he returned to the centre of the party’s politics and emerged as its presidential candidate in 2026.

Sunday Adenuga – Boot Party (BP)

Adenuga is the national chairman of the Boot Party and emerged as its presidential candidate unopposed. He has previously contested under the party and is now back for another shot. His campaign has focused on insecurity, the cost of living and Nigerians’ access to basic needs.

Moses Adebisi – Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA)

Initially, Samuel Memeh, a lawyer and the national chairman of the newly registered Democratic Leadership Alliance, was announced as the DLA’s consensus presidential candidate after the party’s May 2026 primary. However, after a substitution primary election, Moses Adebisi was declared the new presidential candidate of the party.

The party says its platform is built around competence, accountability, institutional reform, innovation and people-centred governance. Adebisi says his route to Aso Rock has involved international study. He travelled to China, visiting Beijing and Shanghai to study the country’s economic reforms, especially the reforms that began in 1978. He said he also looked to the United States to understand the political and economic ideas behind its “liberty agenda.”

Daniel Nwanyanwu – Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)

Nwanyanwu is representing the ZLP. He previously served as Labour Party chairman before leaving for the ZLP. He later became national chairman of the ZLP, where he has been a prominent figure for years. He also contested the presidency under the ZLP in 2023. Now, he is hoping his second attempt will take him to Aso Rock.

Sunday Chibuzor Okereke – Labour Party (LP)

Okereke is a businessman and political figure who emerged as the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in May 2026. He currently serves as the founder of ERGAF-AFRICA, a policy and legislative research institution. He has called for credible elections and reforms in areas including education and healthcare.

Iken Esther Okereke – National Rescue Movement (NRM)

Esther Okereke is an actress and film producer who emerged as the NRM’s presidential candidate. She also made history as the party’s first female presidential flag bearer. Her campaign has focused on issues including security and the economy. Okereke’s candidacy puts her in a rather unusual group of presidential hopefuls: entertainers attempting to move from the screen into the highest level of Nigerian politics.

Abbas-Bin Aliyu – Action Democratic Party (ADP)

Aliyu Abbas is the ADP presidential candidate. He previously worked as a political aide to Atiku Abubakar and is also the founder of the National Youth Alliance. On April 15, 2026, he joined the ADP. His campaign has focused on youth empowerment, inclusive governance and economic transformation.

Yusuf Kabiru – Action Peoples Party (APP)

Kabiru is the presidential candidate of the APP for the 2027 election. INEC lists him as 54 years old, with a First School Leaving Certificate, Senior Secondary School Certificate and National Diploma among his declared qualifications. His running mate is Peace Egobia Ofordile.

What Voters Should Know

Eighteen candidates will contest one seat, with months of campaign posters, rallies and promises ahead. Some of these candidates have been in Nigerian politics for decades, while others are introducing themselves to voters for the first time. On January 16, 2027, the ballot paper will not care who had the loudest supporters online. It will simply ask voters to choose.