INEC Deadline: Parties Report Progress, Raise Concerns

Political parties have provided updates on the submission of their presidential and National Assembly candidates through the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal after the original July 11, 2026, deadline.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and various factions of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) shared details of their progress, although the NNPP presented conflicting accounts due to its leadership crisis.

The National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Osa Director, said the party had experienced only minor difficulties while uploading the names of its candidates. He stated that the process had gone smoothly and expressed confidence that the party would complete the submission of all candidates within the time allowed by INEC.

The faction of the NNPP recognised by INEC also reported progress. Its National Chairman, Dr Agbo Major, said the party had been working to upload the names of all candidates who had met the necessary legal conditions and received the party’s clearance.

Major admitted that the process became more challenging because his National Working Committee received official recognition late. Despite this, he said the party was making every effort to complete the uploads within the period permitted by law.

However, another NNPP faction, which was previously led by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and is now headed in an acting capacity by Bala Mohammed, said it had been unable to upload any candidates.

The faction’s National Secretary, Dipo Olayoku, explained that although its officials attended INEC’s two-day training on the nomination process, they did not receive the access code needed to use the upload portal. According to him, INEC provided the code to the Agbo Major-led National Working Committee, leaving his faction without access to the system.

The Social Democratic Party also reported progress after overcoming technical problems that affected the nomination portal during the early stages of the exercise.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, said the portal was now functioning properly, allowing the SDP to continue uploading its candidates without major setbacks.

He disclosed that the party had successfully submitted the details of its presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, and his running mate, Dr Usman Bugaje. He also said a large number of the party’s National Assembly candidates from different states had already been uploaded.

Aiyenigba expressed confidence that the SDP would complete the nomination process before the deadline set by the electoral commission. Meanwhile, INEC has since extended the submission deadline to midnight on July 14, 2026, giving political parties additional time to finalise the upload of their candidates’ details.