Three parties miss INEC deadline for presidential candidates’ submission

Three political parties failed to upload the names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) closed its nomination portal for the 2027 general election.

A senior INEC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, identified the affected parties as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction led by Nyesom Wike, and the Labour Party (LP) faction led by Nenadi Usman.

According to the official, nearly all registered political parties successfully submitted the names of their presidential candidates and running mates before the portal closed at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday.

The commission had earlier extended the submission deadline following requests from political parties but maintained that no further extension would be granted.

The extension moved the deadline from July 11 to July 14 to allow parties additional time to complete the nomination process and upload the names and credentials of their presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates.

Among the parties that met the deadline were the All Progressives Congress (APC), which submitted President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for re-election, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which uploaded Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), which submitted Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Sources within INEC also disclosed that some political parties uploaded only the names of their presidential candidates without naming running mates.

Although the portal has now closed, uncertainty remains in some states over the identities of National Assembly candidates as the commission begins processing submissions in line with the Electoral Act and its guidelines.