The All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party have successfully uploaded the names of their presidential, vice-presidential, and National Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission Candidate Nomination Portal. This development comes as the electoral umpire shifted the deadline for political parties to conclude their submissions to July 14, 2026. The decision has prompted the ruling APC to mock opposition parties over their inability to meet the initial schedule, claiming the delay exposes their poor organisational capacity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
On Sunday, the electoral commission extended the timeframe for political parties to submit the personal particulars and lists of their candidates for the upcoming presidential and legislative polls by three days. The closure of the exercise was adjusted from Saturday, July 11, 2026, to midnight on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. In an official statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, the commission explained that the extension followed an appeal made by the Inter-Party Advisory Council on behalf of affected political associations.
According to the statement issued by the electoral body, “The Independent National Electoral Commission has approved the extension of the deadline for submission of lists of candidates for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly Elections by political parties,” The text further clarified that, “The deadline for submission in the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election, being Saturday 11th July 2026, has been extended to midnight on Tuesday 14th July 2026.” The commission emphasized that the adjustment reflects its desire to run an inclusive process within legal limits, urging political parties to maximize the extra days to finalize their uploads.
The National Chairman of the APC, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, verified on Sunday that the ruling party achieved full completion on the digital portal. Writing on his verified X account, the party chairman noted, “I congratulate our candidates, leaders, and members of APC on the successful 100% upload of our Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal.” Yilwatda added, “With this milestone achieved, our focus now shifts to mobilisation and preparations for a successful campaign and decisive victory at the polls.” Statistics from the party showed that a total of 471 names were submitted, which consists of its presidential and vice-presidential candidates, 109 candidates for the Senate, and 360 individuals contesting for the House of Representatives.
In a similar development, the opposition PDP confirmed that it successfully completed the upload of its presidential standard-bearer and National Assembly candidates before the closing date. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, supported the opposition party during the candidate registration phase. Reflecting on the completion, the PDP National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, labeled the outcome as “another milestone.” In a statement released on Sunday, Mohammed stated, “I am pleased to inform all PDP members and Nigerians that our great party, under my leadership, has successfully uploaded the names of our presidential candidate, his running mate, and our National Assembly candidates onto the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal,”
Meanwhile, the APC has used the failure of opposition parties to meet the initial closing date to criticize their preparation for governance. The National Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, Felix Morka, released a statement on Sunday pointing out the internal administrative challenges of rival political entities. Morka stated, “While INEC acted within its statutory powers and administrative discretion in extending the deadline for opposition parties to upload names of their candidates, it is noteworthy that the extension was necessitated by the stark failure of opposition parties to manage their internal processes to comply with INEC’s submission deadline despite having fewer candidates to manage compared to the APC.”
The ruling party spokesperson added, “This development provides yet another clear indication of the opposition’s chronic inherent weakness and raises legitimate questions about their operational capacity. Political parties that cannot efficiently conclude their own internal nomination processes cannot possibly be trusted by Nigerians to possess the competence, discipline, or readiness to govern our great nation or its subnational governments.”
Morka further stated, “It is starkly ironical that the same opposition parties have repeatedly peddled false, malicious and unfounded tales that the APC controls and dictates INEC’s decisions. Yet, as they failed to meet the submission deadline, they shamelessly turned to the same INEC for respite, and were granted an extension. And the same APC that would have been the obvious beneficiary if INEC had stood firm on its original deadline kept its distance, having met the deadline and completed its submission. Again, this underscores the opposition’s hypocrisy and true character as peddlers of fake news and merchants of blackmail. With the successful upload of particulars of all its presidential, vice presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal, APC has, again, demonstrated its leadership and superior organisational capacity, discipline, and solid commitment to due process.” Following the submission, the APC leadership charged its members and stakeholders to remain focused on the electoral campaigns.
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