Campaign activities for the 2027 governorship and State House of Assembly elections officially commenced on Tuesday, September 8, allowing political parties and their candidates to begin direct engagement and mobilisation of voters nationwide.
The development is in line with the timetable issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which had earlier scheduled August 19 for the commencement of campaigns by presidential and National Assembly candidates.
Governorship elections are expected to take place in 28 states where the electoral timetable corresponds with the 2027 general election cycle.
However, eight states—Imo, Ondo, Osun, Bayelsa, Edo, Kogi, Ekiti and Anambra—will not conduct governorship elections in 2027 because their respective electoral calendars do not coincide with the general election schedule.
The All Progressives Congress, Nigeria Democratic Congress and African Democratic Congress are among the major political parties that have selected governorship candidates in the 28 states, setting up another phase of political contests ahead of the elections.
Despite the official opening of the campaign period, some political parties are yet to complete the formation and activation of their campaign structures.
Almost three weeks after presidential and National Assembly campaigns commenced, some major parties have not yet inaugurated their national and state campaign councils, fuelling concerns over their level of preparation for the broader campaign season.
The APC recently released the membership of its national campaign council but has not formally inaugurated the body. Party sources said the delay was connected to objections over some of the nominees, with the party leadership reportedly reviewing the list and considering changes before the council is inaugurated.
Several opposition parties are dealing with comparable difficulties. The NDC, ADC and Peoples Democratic Party are yet to fully operationalise their central and state campaign structures. Political observers have attributed the delays to disagreements arising from party primaries, financial constraints and ongoing negotiations over alliances and electoral strategies.
The situation suggests that although the campaign period has legally opened, some parties will need to accelerate efforts to settle internal disputes and put in place functional structures capable of taking their campaigns to voters across the grassroots.
The commencement of the governorship and assembly campaign season also coincides with preparations by INEC to release the final list of candidates for the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027.
The electoral commission is expected to publish the final list on September 12, in line with its election timetable. Under the 2026 Electoral Act, INEC is required to publish the final list of candidates no later than 60 days before an election.
Earlier reports indicated that the commission had been reviewing and verifying details submitted by political parties ahead of the publication. Sources familiar with the exercise said INEC was taking steps to ensure accuracy and minimise potential complaints or disputes involving parties and candidates.
The APC, PDP and ADC are projected to present candidates in all 469 National Assembly constituencies, comprising 109 Senate seats and 360 House of Representatives seats. The NDC is also expected to contest the 109 senatorial seats and 219 House of Representatives seats, although INEC has yet to publicly confirm the figures submitted by the parties.
The window for replacing presidential and National Assembly candidates closed on August 22, while political parties concluded the submission of nomination forms for the elections on August 29.
