Candidates upload: No party met July 11 deadline, INEC source reveals

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other registered political parties have come under fresh scrutiny after new information suggested that none of them met the commission’s original July 11 deadline for submitting candidates for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.

The development followed claims by some parties that they completed the process before the deadline, while internal disagreements have also continued to affect the APC’s nomination process in some states.

According to multiple sources within INEC, no political party completed the upload of its candidates to the commission’s nomination portal before the initial deadline. The sources disclosed that even the APC, which earlier announced that it had met the deadline, still had a large number of candidates yet to be uploaded as of July 11. They added that the commission had to extend the deadline and make technical adjustments to its system to allow parties to complete the process.

The APC had earlier announced that it successfully submitted the names of its candidates before the deadline and said the extension granted by INEC was mainly to assist opposition parties that failed to complete their nominations on time. The party also argued that handling a large number of candidates made its achievement more difficult than that of other political parties.

INEC later confirmed that it revised the timetable after receiving a request from the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), which appealed on behalf of political parties that were unable to finish uploading their candidates and supporting documents within the scheduled period.

The commission said the extension was granted in line with its legal powers and administrative responsibility.

The latest information from INEC sources, however, suggested that the extension was not only for opposition parties. According to the officials, all political parties, including the APC, still had pending candidate submissions when the commission decided to move the deadline.

Meanwhile, disagreements over candidate selection have continued within the APC. In Benue State, party members and aspirants from the Apa State Constituency protested at the APC national secretariat, accusing some leaders of trying to impose a preferred candidate instead of allowing a transparent primary election.

The protesters said the alleged move could divide the party and weaken its chances in future elections. They called on the APC National Working Committee and the party’s national chairman to intervene and ensure that all aspirants receive equal treatment during the nomination process.

The group also criticised one of the party leaders in the area, alleging that candidates should emerge through a fair process based on loyalty, service and acceptance by party members rather than through imposition.

As of the time the report was filed, the APC leadership had not issued an official response to the allegations, while the claims remained independently unverified.