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General elections will be held inNigeria in 2027 to elect thepresident andvice president, members of theSenate andHouse of Representatives, state governors, and members of the house of assembly. Incumbent presidentBola Tinubu has made his intentions known to run for a 2nd term under theAll Progressives Congress.[1]
On 2 July 2025, theAfrica Democratic Congress surrendered its leadership to a coalition including former vice presidentAtiku Abubakar, former senate president David Mark, former Internal Affairs Minister, Rauf Aregbesola andPeter Obi to oppose PresidentBola Tinubu and theAll Progressives Congress in the 2027 election.[2]
ThePresident of Nigeria is elected using a modifiedtwo-round system with up to three rounds. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive a plurality of the votes and over 25% of the vote in at least 24 of the36 states and theFederal Capital Territory. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a majority of votes in the highest number of states. In the second round, a candidate still must receive the most votes and over 25% of the vote in at least 24 of the36 states and theFederal Capital Territory to be elected. If neither candidate passes this threshold, a third round will be held where just majority of the votes is required to be elected.
The 109 members of theSenate are elected from 109 single-seat constituencies (three in each state and one for theFederal Capital Territory) by first-past-the-post voting.[3] The 360 members of theHouse of Representatives are also elected byfirst-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.[4]
TheNigerian Constitution limits occupancy of the presidency to individuals who are at least thirty-five, the person must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth, must be a member of a political party and sponsored by that party and must have been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. A person who meets the above qualifications is still disqualified from holding the office of the president if: they have voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria (except in such cases as may be prescribed by theNational Assembly) or they have made a declaration of allegiance to such other country; they have been elected to such office at any two previous elections; under the law in any part of Nigeria, they are adjudged to be alunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind; they are under a sentence of death imposed by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment or fine for any offence involving dishonesty or fraud or for any other offence, imposed on them by any court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on them by such a court or tribunal; within a period of less than ten years before the date of the election to the office of President they have been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or they have been found guilty of the contravention of the Code of Conduct; they are an undischarged bankrupt, having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in Nigeria or any other country; being a person employed in the civil or public service of the Federation or of any State, they have not resigned, withdrawn or retired from the employment at least thirty days before the date of the election; or they are a member of anysecret society; they have been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry or an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a Tribunals of Inquiry law or any other law by the federal or state government which indictment has been accepted by the federal or state government, respectively; they have presented a forged certificate to theIndependent National Electoral Commission.[5][6]
There is no maximum age for candidates; although, in March 2025, the house of representatives approved a bill proposing 60 years as the maximum age limit for presidential and gubernatorial candidates for second reading.[7]
Former President,Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to run in 2027 under any political party of choice, since he was an elected president for just one term.[8] Former presidents Muhammadu Buhari, and Olusegun Obasanjo are ineligible to be elected to a third term, as section 135 of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria forbids any person from being elected president more than twice.
TheNigerian Constitution limits occupancy of the senate and house of representatives to individuals who are at least thirty-five years and twenty-five years respectively, the person must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth, must be a member of a political party and sponsored by that party and must have been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.[6]
TheNigerian Constitution limits occupancy of the governor of a state to individuals who are at least thirty-five years, the person must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth, must be a member of a political party and sponsored by that party and must have been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.[6]
TheNigerian Constitution limits occupancy of the state house of assembly to individuals who are at least twenty-five years, the person must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth, must be a member of a political party and sponsored by that party and must have been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.[9]
(Speculated by the media)
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Rotimi Amaechi served as the governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015 and then the Minister of Transportation from 2015 to 2023. He previously ran for the All Progressives Congress presidential nomination in 2023, but lost to President Bola Tinubu. He has been considered a possible candidate bythe Guardian,[10] andNews Central TV.[11]
Rabiu Kwankwaso previously served asgovernor of Kano state from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015. After he lost his re-election in2003, he was appointed the firstMinister of Defence of theFourth Republic, from 2003 to 2007, under the administration of PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo. He was later elected to theSenate in2015, serving one term under the platform of theAll Progressives Congress (APC) representing Kano Central Senatorial District. He contested for the presidency in2023 under theNew Nigeria People's Party and scored 6.4% of the popular votes. A 2025 meeting withRauf Aregbesola sparked an alliance talk as reported byBusiness Day,[12] andThisDayLive.[13]
Peter Obi is a Nigerian politician and businessman who was theGovernor of Anambra State under PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo from 17 March 2006 to 3 November 2006, when he was impeached. He was reinstated on 9 February 2007 and continued his tenure until 2010. He was reelected for his second term until 7 March 2014. A member of theLabour Party since 2022, he was the presidential candidate in the2023 Nigerian presidential election. He was reported to have said that he may not contest again for presidency after the 2027 elections byThe Punch.[14] He was stated to have said he was in a coalition movement for the election, as reported byVanguard.[15]
Bola Tinubu is a Nigerian politician who is serving as the 16th and currentpresident of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as thegovernor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, andsenator forLagos West in theThird Republic. He was accused by theArewa Consultative Forum for prioritising the 2027 elections over national issues. This was reported byChannels TV.[16]Tribune Online reported support for President Tinubu by a women's group.[17] His candidacy was also mentioned byVanguard,[18]The Punch,[19]The Nation,[20] and others.
Religious Dimension
One of the key factors influencing the outcome of the 2027 presidential election is religion, particularly the religious affiliations of presidential candidates and their running mates. In 2023, former Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu, then the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), ran on a joint ticket with ex-Borno Governor Kashim Shettima. Both men were practising Muslims and they won the election despite the concerns raised by the Christian community in Nigeria. Before then, since 1999 when Nigeria returned to democratic governance, the nation had an unwritten code of Muslim-Christian or Christian-Muslim tickets before presidents and vice presidents. However, with the claim of Christian genocide raised by US President Donald Trump, Tinubu, who is seeking re-election as president might be looking at shopping for a Christian as running mate in the 2027 election.
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