INEC Deadline: APC, NDC, ADC, others rush to upload candidates’ names on portal as submission ends tomorrow

Political parties have intensified efforts to upload the names and personal particulars of their presidential and National Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal ahead of Saturday’s deadline, as aspirants scramble to avoid last-minute substitutions.

Under INEC’s revised timetable, political parties are required to submit nominations for presidential and National Assembly candidates between June 27 and July 11, in line with the Electoral Act, 2026. The commission is expected to publish the personal particulars of nominated candidates on August 1.

Investigations revealed that candidates who emerged from party primaries have thronged their national headquarters in Abuja this week to personally monitor the submission of their details, amid fears that some winners could be replaced before the deadline.

At the African Democratic Congress (ADC), National Assembly candidates have maintained a strong presence at the party’s national secretariat since Monday.

A senior party source said many aspirants chose to submit their documents directly in Abuja because they lacked confidence in some state party officials.

“You can see National Assembly candidates coming to the party secretariat to submit their particulars. They cannot trust some of the state party officials to do it on their behalf because of fear of replacements,” the source said.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, dismissed concerns over the process, insisting the party would meet the deadline.

“We don’t have any issue. We will meet the deadline,” he said, adding that governorship and state assembly nominations would commence once INEC releases the necessary access codes.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the commission would verify all submissions against reports filed by its election monitors during party primaries.

According to him, only candidates who genuinely emerged from monitored primaries would be accepted.

“We already uploaded the names of winners from monitored primaries. Political parties cannot upload names that do not tally with the results already captured on our portal,” he explained.

Haruna, however, noted that political parties still have the constitutional window to substitute candidates where permitted under the Electoral Act.

He confirmed that all 21 registered political parties had received access codes for the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal following a two-day training exercise held in June.

The Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also expressed confidence of meeting the deadline.

LP National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, disclosed that over 90 per cent of the party’s presidential and National Assembly candidates had already been uploaded.

“The deadline is July 11, and we have completed more than 90 per cent of the uploads. Everything is going smoothly,” he said.

The PDP, meanwhile, said it had fully complied with INEC’s directive.

National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, stated that the party had concluded uploading all presidential and National Assembly candidates while work had commenced on governorship and state assembly nominations.

“This is a new PDP. We do not substitute the names of candidates who won primaries. We have completed 100 per cent compliance for the presidential and National Assembly categories,” he said.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) also confirmed that candidate compilation was ongoing, although party officials declined to disclose details.

APC Publicity Director, Bala Ibrahim, said the exercise was being handled by the party’s ICT department.

“I don’t have the update on who and who are on the list. All I can tell you is that the process is ongoing,” he said.

Despite its ongoing legal battle over its registration, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) said it remained optimistic of meeting INEC’s deadline.

National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the upload of candidates was progressing without disruption after the party secured access to the nomination portal following its appeal against a Federal High Court judgment ordering its deregistration.

“The process is ongoing and moving smoothly without hitches. We hope to conclude it on or before Saturday,” he said.

Under INEC’s revised election timetable, presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and state House of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.

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