INEC shuts portal as parties complete 2027 candidate uploads

Major political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have uploaded the names and particulars of their governorship and State House of Assembly candidates for the 2027 elections as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) closed its nomination portal.

The dedicated portal shut at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, after INEC granted political parties an additional three days to complete the submission of their candidates.

An INEC official confirmed that political parties took advantage of the extension, which was granted following requests from the parties.

“It’s obvious. They asked for it and we gave it to them. So obviously, they must have used it,” the official said.

Other parties reported to have completed submissions include the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and several others.

APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, had announced over the weekend that the ruling party had completed the upload of its candidates.

Similarly, NNPP founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, said the party had fielded candidates for more than 90 per cent of the elective positions.

INEC had initially fixed August 8 as the deadline for political parties to submit the names and particulars of their governorship and State Assembly candidates.

However, the commission announced a three-day extension on Sunday following appeals from political parties for additional time to resolve challenges associated with the nomination process.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the extension was approved in response to “growing appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the process.”

The exercise covers candidates for governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for February 2027. Parties were required to submit nomination forms and candidates’ particulars through INEC’s Candidate Nomination Portal.

Before the portal closed, an INEC official said the commission would wait until the deadline elapsed before releasing the final number of parties that successfully submitted their candidates.

The official explained that publishing figures before the portal closed could produce inaccurate statistics because parties could still make submissions until the final minutes.

“We’ll give you after tomorrow. We can’t give you figures just because we’re in a rush to inform the public. We’ll give you inaccurate figures,” the official said.

The latest extension was the second time INEC adjusted the deadline for candidate submissions for the 2027 elections.

In July, the commission extended the deadline for political parties to submit their Presidential and National Assembly candidates from July 11 to July 14, following an appeal by the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).

INEC said the earlier extension was intended to give parties facing technical or administrative challenges a fair opportunity to complete the nomination process.

With the governorship and State Assembly nomination window now closed, the commission is expected to reconcile and verify the submitted data before proceeding to the next stages of the electoral timetable.

The revised timetable provides for the publication of candidates’ particulars for public scrutiny later in August ahead of the February 2027 elections.