Former Kaduna Central Senator [Shehu Sani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shehu_Sani) has appealed to political aspirants whose names were omitted from the official final list released by the [Independent National Electoral Commission](https://inecnigeria.org) (INEC) to accept the result and refrain from initiating new court actions. He made the statement on the day the list was published, emphasizing that the Supreme Court’s ruling gives INEC unequivocal authority to enforce the exclusions.
**What did the former senator say?**
Sani wrote on his verified Facebook page that the Supreme Court judgment “clearly enabled INEC to exclude some names of candidates” and warned that “affected candidates should not waste their money, time and energy fighting a lost battle.”
**Why are the lawsuits considered futile?**
According to Sani, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed INEC’s mandate to strictly apply electoral guidelines, honour only duly monitored primaries and reject any attempts by parties to substitute candidates after the statutory deadline. This legal backdrop, he argued, makes further litigation pointless.
**Who else is being addressed?**
The ex‑lawmaker also appealed directly to senior legal practitioners, especially Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) and barristers, urging them to act in good faith and not encourage politicians to pursue costly, unsuccessful suits. “I also wish to appeal to those Barristers and SANs to ‘pity’ those candidates and allow them to rest, and not mislead them into spending more money ‘filing fresh suits’,” he added.
**Which candidates were affected?**
Among the high‑profile names left out were PDP’s Ladi Adebutu in Ogun State, former minister Isa Pantami in Gombe State – who had won a court‑ordered rerun primary – and NDC’s Aminu Abdulsalam in Kano State, all omitted due to internal party disputes, non‑compliance with nomination rules or binding judicial orders.
**What is the broader context?**
The release of INEC’s final list sparked widespread reactions because several prominent party candidates were excluded across multiple states. The Supreme Court’s earlier pronouncement confirmed that INEC must enforce electoral guidelines strictly, preventing parties from swapping candidates beyond the legally prescribed timelines.
Four years will pass, Sani concluded, urging the excluded aspirants to plan for the future rather than linger on lost battles.