Chidinma Iroegbu
Nigeria’s major political parties have assured the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that they will meet the August 8 deadline for uploading the names of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general election.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) said they had activated their nomination processes and were working within the timeframe provided by INEC’s Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP).
The APC has already begun uploading candidates’ details after its ICT department commenced processing nomination documents at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.
The ruling party is prioritising 16 incumbent governors seeking second terms and 12 new governorship candidates, while uploading 28 governorship candidates and 993 State House of Assembly candidates nationwide.
To ensure accuracy, the APC constituted a verification committee headed by Jibrin Bancir, Principal Private Secretary to the party’s National Chairman, to screen nomination forms before submission.
A source within the APC National Working Committee said the party was leaving “nothing to chance ahead of the August 8 deadline” for the closure of the INEC portal.
The PDP also confirmed it had started uploading candidates’ details after receiving its access credentials from INEC.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, said the party had deployed adequate personnel and would complete the exercise seamlessly within the commission’s deadline. He said, “We have already started uploading these names.”
The Labour Party likewise expressed confidence in meeting the deadline, saying possession of its INEC access codes had removed any concern over the nomination exercise.
INEC fixed July 18 to August 8 for political parties to upload the names of governorship candidates, their running mates and State House of Assembly candidates through its online nomination portal ahead of the 2027 general election.