INEC Portal Closes as Three Parties Miss Presidential Candidate Deadline
Three political parties failed to submit the names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) closed its candidate nomination portal, despite an extension granted by the electoral body.
Sources within INEC disclosed that the affected parties are the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Nyesom Wike, and the Labour Party (LP) faction under Nenadi Usman.
According to an official of the commission who spoke on condition of anonymity, virtually all other registered political parties successfully uploaded the details of their presidential and National Assembly candidates before the portal closed at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday.
The official said the three parties were the only ones that had yet to complete the submission process before the deadline elapsed.
INEC had earlier shifted the deadline for submitting the names and credentials of presidential and National Assembly candidates from July 11 to July 14 following appeals from several political parties. The commission, however, insisted that the extension would be the last.
Among the parties that completed the process are the All Progressives Congress (APC), which retained President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima as its presidential ticket, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which submitted Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), which uploaded Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as its presidential ticket.
INEC sources also revealed that some political parties submitted only the names of their presidential candidates without indicating their running mates before the deadline.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues to trail the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following a Court of Appeal ruling on the party’s leadership dispute.
Although the court upheld an earlier judgment restraining INEC from recognising congresses conducted by the faction led by former Senate President David Mark, the commission’s portal still listed Mark as the party’s National Chairman as of Tuesday evening.
The development has raised fresh questions over the legal status of the party’s candidates ahead of the 2027 general election.
The ADC also called on security agencies to investigate and prosecute former Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala Gombe, after INEC dismissed as false his claim that he had obtained the commission’s access code and uploaded candidates on behalf of the party.
Elsewhere, the Accord Party’s presidential ticket remains the subject of a legal battle.
Presidential aspirant Olawepo Gbenga-Hashim is asking the court to declare him the party’s lawful candidate or order a fresh primary election after alleging that his name was not forwarded to INEC despite emerging from the party’s primary.
With the nomination portal now closed, attention is expected to shift to INEC’s verification of submitted candidates and the resolution of pending legal disputes that could shape the final list of contestants for the 2027 general election.
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