2027 Polls: Parties Race To Beat INEC Deadline

Political parties across Nigeria are working to complete the upload of their candidates’ details on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal before the July 11 deadline, with some reporting a smooth process while others continue to face technical and administrative challenges.

INEC has insisted that all political parties must submit the required details of their candidates through its online nomination portal before the deadline. As a result, parties have stepped up efforts to complete the exercise on time.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), the Labour Party (LP) and the Action Democratic Party (ADP) all expressed confidence that they would meet the deadline.

However, not every party has had an easy experience. Some political groups said they were still dealing with technical issues on the INEC portal, while others are yet to complete the selection of governorship running mates or resolve disputes arising from their primary elections.

The Because Of Our Tomorrow (BOOT) Party admitted that using the INEC portal has been difficult since it received its access code last week.

The party’s National Chairman, Sonny Adenuga, said the party had already informed INEC about the technical problems it encountered. Despite the setbacks, he expressed confidence that BOOT would complete the upload of all its candidates before the deadline.

The Labour Party said its experience had been largely smooth after overcoming some early technical issues.

According to the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, the main challenge involved differences between the information submitted by candidates and the records already stored in INEC’s system.

He explained that the portal sometimes rejected candidate details when names were entered differently from the commission’s existing records. Once the information matched correctly, the upload proceeded without difficulty.

Asogwa added that no other major challenges had affected the party’s nomination process.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) declined to comment on its progress when contacted.

Earlier, INEC opened its Candidate Nomination Portal for political parties to upload Form EC9 and other required documents for candidates contesting the presidential, governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly elections.

The Action Democratic Party also confirmed that it was making steady progress and expected to complete the exercise before the closing date.

Its National Chairman, Yabagi Yusuf Sani, said the party was complying with INEC’s timetable and remained on course to meet all requirements.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress also reported that the upload of its candidates was progressing with little difficulty.

The party said its reconciliation committee and national leadership were working to resolve outstanding issues arising from its primary elections while continuing the nomination process.

It expressed confidence that all candidates would be uploaded before the deadline.

Meanwhile, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) said its National Secretary, Dipo Olayoku, was not in a position to provide an update on the party’s progress with the exercise.

Within the APC, party officials said the upload of candidates was progressing without technical problems.

A senior party source disclosed that the process was moving smoothly and that the party expected to beat the July 11 deadline.

The Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy to the APC National Chairman, Abimbola Tooki, also maintained that the nomination process followed the party’s constitution and established guidelines.

The latest development comes after the APC submitted a revised list of candidates to INEC, replacing six senatorial candidates and 19 House of Representatives candidates following the outcome of appeals arising from its primary elections.

The party had earlier revealed that it received more than 700 petitions from dissatisfied members over the conduct of its primaries.

Despite the complaints, the APC maintained that completing candidate nominations before INEC’s deadline remained its immediate priority.

Several well-known party members, including four serving governors seeking Senate seats, were retained on the final list submitted to the electoral commission.

The Peoples Democratic Party also reported that its nomination process was progressing without any major challenge.

Party officials said they had not experienced technical, legal or administrative problems since the upload exercise began.

The African Democratic Congress gave a similar update, stating that it had already completed the upload of its presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

The party added that work was ongoing to complete the submission of its National Assembly candidates before the deadline.

Both opposition parties expressed confidence that they would fully comply with INEC’s timetable.

The PDP also dismissed claims of irregularities in its nomination process and urged party members to ignore false information circulating about candidate nominations.

Party officials maintained that ongoing legal matters would not affect its preparations for the 2027 general elections.