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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed as fake an online publication claiming to be a special announcement by the commission regarding issues affecting the list of governorship candidates in six states.
The commission, in a statement on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, identified the affected states as Zamfara, Gombe, Delta, Plateau, Yobe and Kano.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been drawn to a fraudulent publication circulating online and purporting to be a special announcement by the Commission regarding issues affecting the list of governorship candidates in six states: Zamfara, Gombe, Delta, Plateau, Yobe, and Kano.
The Commission wishes to categorically inform the general public that the publication is FAKE and did not originate from INEC.
INEC therefore urges members of the public to disregard the fraudulent publication and refrain from sharing it. The public is advised to rely solely on official notices, press releases, and other information issued through the Commission’s verified communication channels, listed below:
– Website: https://t.co/pfVvI2IKPj
-Facebook: INEC Nigeria
-X (formerly Twitter) & Instagram : @inecnigeria
-INEC News Portal: https://t.co/P31uifniapThe Commission further wishes to clarify that any information suggesting that INEC has issued a special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the aforementioned states is false.
The Commission calls on the public to remain vigilant and verify all electoral information through its official communication channels to avoid being misled by false or fraudulent publications.
For enquiries and further clarification, members of the public may contact INEC through the following channels:
INEC Call Centre: 0700-CALL-INEC (0700-2255-4632)
INEC Short Code: 4632
Phone: 090844444333 | 09050858629
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://t.co/pfVvI2IKPj
News Portal: https://t.co/P31uifniapThe Commission reiterates its commitment to keeping the public accurately informed and urges everyone to disregard the fraudulent publication and obtain electoral information only from INEC’s official communication channels.
— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) October 12, 2026
INEC dismissed the publication as fraudulent, stating that it did not originate from the electoral body. It urged the public to disregard the notice and avoid circulating it further.
“The Commission wishes to categorically inform the general public that the publication is FAKE and did not originate from INEC,” the statement read.
The commission also clarified that it had not issued any special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the six states, describing claims to the contrary as false.
It advised Nigerians to verify election-related information through its official notices, press releases and other recognised communication channels to avoid being misled by fabricated reports.
“The Commission further wishes to clarify that any information suggesting that INEC has issued a special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the aforementioned states is false,” it added.
INEC listed its website as inecnigeria.org, its X and Instagram handles as @inecnigeria, its Facebook page as INEC Nigeria, and its news portal as inecnews.com.
For enquiries, the commission provided its call centre number as 0700-2255-4632, short code 4632, telephone numbers 090844444333 and 09050858629, and email address [email protected].
The warning comes two days after INEC published its final lists of candidates for the February 6, 2027 governorship elections, with the names of some candidates reportedly missing from the documents.
The PDP’s governorship candidates in Ogun and Gombe states, Ladi Adebutu and Isa Ali Pantami, respectively, were absent from the published lists.
The documents did not explain why the two candidates’ names were omitted.
