The senatorial list for the 2027 polls has formally confirmed the exit of at least 52 serving senators who have no chance of returning to the 11th National Assembly next year.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had released the final list of candidates qualified to contest the National Assembly polls on Saturday, last week.

From the list, the names of about 57 senators serving in the current 10th Assembly were submitted by their political parties after primaries and verified by INEC as qualified to contest the polls in January next year.

The remaining 52 will be exiting the Senate at the end of their term in June 2027, having been excluded from the final list released by INEC.

Findings by the Nigerian Tribune showed that some senators won’t be returning not necessarily because they failed to secure tickets but for the reason that they are aspiring for other offices, especially the governorship seat of their states.

However, the majority won’t be returning because, having lost their primaries, their efforts to secure tickets on platforms other than their original political parties also fell flat.

Sources also said some senators simply stepped down to avoid a clash with their governors, who had indicated interest to take over their seats and had gone ahead to pick the tickets.

In Ogun State, for instance, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Ademola Solomon Olamilekan, will exit the Senate, having secured the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In the same state, former governor Gbenga Daniel won’t return for the Ogun-East seat because Governor Dapo Abiodun will contest the poll in Daniel’s place.

In Nasarawa, a former chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts (SPAC), Senator Aliyu Wadada, is gunning for the governorship in 2027, having won the APC’s ticket.

In Imo State, the chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Osita Izunaso’s Imo-West ticket was ceded to Governor Hope Uzodinma, while a similar situation played out in Yobe and Gombe states, among others where sitting governors took over the Senate tickets.

As for Sokoto State, former governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who is among the 52 outgoing senators, won’t return because the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant stepped down for a young contestant in a power-sharing understanding of his current political party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

However, the list also shows that in some states, all three current senators secured tickets and have hopes of returning in 2027 among the 57 on the INEC list.

In Lagos State, Senator Adetokumbo Abiru (Lagos-East); Senator Adebule Idiat Oluranti (Lagos-West); and Senator Sanni Eshilokun (Lagos-Central) have return tickets and chances of being part of the 11th Assembly.

In Ekiti, the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti-Central); the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti-South); and Senator Fasuyi Cyril Oluwole (Ekiti-North) — all have return tickets.

The story is not different in the Senate President’s (Godswill Akpabio) home state, Akwa Ibom, where Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North-West); Senator Aniekan Bassey (Akwa Ibom North-East); and Senator Ekong Sampson (Akwa Ibom South) also have return tickets.

All three senators in Borno State, including Mohammed Ali Ndume, are among the 57 serving lawmakers shortlisted by INEC for the 2027 election.

According to investigations, serving senators not on the INEC list have only one final window, which is by withdrawal or replacement of the candidates on the list, depending on the option applicable in a particular case.

Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2026, dealing with withdrawal of candidates, states: “A candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice in writing signed by him together with a sworn affidavit delivered personally by the candidate to the political party that nominated him for the election and the political party shall convey such withdrawal and the sworn affidavit to the Commission not later than 90 days to the election.”

The related provision on replacement is Section 33, which provides:

“A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted under Section 29 of this Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate…”

Thus, the 90-day rule in Section 31 concerns the deadline for transmitting a candidate’s withdrawal and sworn affidavit to INEC. Section 33 then permits substitution only where the candidate has died or withdrawn, subject to the conditions that follow in that section.

The Act separately requires INEC to publish the full names and addresses of all candidates standing nominated at least 60 days before election day under Section 32(1).

The Presidential and National Assembly polls will be held on January 16, 2027, an indication that political parties still have over 120 days within which they may make changes. (Nigerian Tribune, excluding headline)