By Rayyanu Bala

Yesterday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the names of governorship candidates across the country and among all registered political parties. As expected, the list generated considerable interest, particularly among political watchers in Nasarawa State, who have been following the unfolding drama ahead of the 2027 elections.
In Nasarawa State, the names of the various candidates were also published. Interestingly, the name of Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu of the APC appeared on the list.
But there was one name that was conspicuously missing, the name of former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu.
Let me state clearly from the outset: I am looking at this issue from the perspective of an ordinary citizen trying to understand what the electoral law actually permits. I am not a lawyer, and this is not intended to be a legal opinion. But sometimes, the questions raised by ordinary citizens are worth asking.
Yes, INEC has a window within which political parties may make substitutions. But the existence of a substitution window should not automatically be interpreted to mean that a political party has an unrestricted licence to replace its candidate with anybody it chooses.
That, for me, is where the real issue begins.
A substitution window is a procedural opportunity created within the electoral process. It does not necessarily erase the requirements that must be satisfied before a person can lawfully emerge as a candidate.
In other words, the question should not simply be: Does INEC allow substitution?
The more important question is: Under what circumstances can substitution lawfully take place, and what conditions must the replacement candidate satisfy?
Those are two very different questions.
If a political party were to take advantage of the substitution window to simply introduce a new person particularly someone whose name was not part of the earlier process, one would expect that there will be a clear legal basis for such a move.
Otherwise, what is designed as a window for addressing legitimate circumstances could potentially become a source for backdoor entry.
And that brings us back to Nasarawa state.
At the moment, the name of Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu is on the published list for the APC, while the name of former IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu is not.
If, subsequently, the name of the former IGP appears on the ballot paper as the governorship candidate of any political party through substitution, the obvious questions will be: Was the substitution made within the conditions permitted by the Electoral Act 2026? Were all the necessary legal requirements satisfied?
And, perhaps most importantly, can the process withstand judicial scrutiny if another interested party or person challenges it?
These are not trivial questions.
Elections are not only about who eventually appears on the ballot. The road to the ballot is itself regulated by law. Political parties have considerable powers, but those powers must be exercised within the framework established by the Constitution and electoral legislation.
Therefore, the mere fact that INEC has a substitution window should not, in my humble view, be treated as a magic wand that cures every possible defect in the candidate’s ambition.
If the law sets out how candidates are to emerge, and if certain conditions must be satisfied before a person becomes a valid candidate, those requirements cannot simply be wished away because a substitution window happens to be open.
This is why I think the situation deserves serious attention.
If Mohammed Abubakar Adamu eventually appears on the ballot for any political party in Nasarawa State despite his name being absent from INEC’s recently published list, it may invite a serious legal challenge.
That does not mean such a challenge will necessarily succeed. The courts will ultimately determine that.
Therefore, even though INEC has a substitution window, that window, as I see it from the perspective of a layman, may itself be vulnerable to legal challenge under the Electoral Act 2026. Indeed, the fact that INEC has a substitution window does not, by itself, give a political party a free-standing power to choose any person it wants.
From the foregoing however, if, for example, former IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu eventually has his name on the ballot of any political party, that decision could itself be vulnerable to legal challenge in court.
Because when it comes to elections, winning the political argument is one thing; surviving the legal argument is another.
For now, the name of Ahmed Wadada Aliyu is on the list.
The name of Mohammed Abubakar Adamu is not.