The All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party have confirmed the successful upload of their presidential, vice presidential and National Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Candidate Nomination Portal, as the electoral body extended the submission deadline for political parties to July 14.
The development came as the APC mocked opposition parties that failed to meet the original July 11 deadline, saying their inability to complete the nomination process on schedule raised questions about their organisational capacity and readiness for the 2027 general elections, reports The PUNCH.
The electoral commission, yesterday, extended the deadline for political parties to submit the names and personal particulars of their candidates for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections by three days, shifting it to midnight tomorrow, Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
INEC disclosed this in a statement signed by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.
According to the Commission, the extension followed an appeal by the Inter-Party Advisory Council on behalf of political parties that were unable to complete the upload of their candidates’ details within the stipulated timeframe.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission has approved the extension of the deadline for submission of lists of candidates for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly Elections by political parties,” the statement read.
It added, “The deadline for submission in the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election, being Saturday 11th July 2026, has been extended to midnight on Tuesday 14th July 2026.”
INEC said the decision reflected its commitment to ensuring inclusivity in the electoral process while operating within the provisions of the law.
It urged political parties to make use of the additional time to complete the submission process before the new deadline expires.
Earlier yesterday, APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, confirmed that the party had successfully uploaded the list of its candidates.
On his verified X account, the APC national chairman stated, “I congratulate our candidates, leaders, and members of APC on the successful 100% upload of our Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal.
“With this milestone achieved, our focus now shifts to mobilisation and preparations for a successful campaign and decisive victory at the polls.”
The party confirmed the upload of 471 names on the INEC portal, which are the names of its presidential and vice presidential candidates, 109 senatorial candidates and 360 House of Representatives candidates.
Similarly, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, backed the Peoples Democratic Party, which confirmed it had successfully uploaded the names of its presidential candidate and National Assembly candidates to the INEC portal ahead of the 2027 elections.
The PDP National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, in a statement on Sunday, described the completion of the exercise as “another milestone.”
“I am pleased to inform all PDP members and Nigerians that our great party, under my leadership, has successfully uploaded the names of our presidential candidate, his running mate, and our National Assembly candidates onto the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal,” Mohammed stated on Sunday.
Mocking the opposition parties over their failure to meet the INEC deadline, the APC said the development exposed their lack of organisational capacity and readiness to govern.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Sunday, the APC said the development further exposed the opposition’s internal weaknesses and raised concerns about their ability to effectively manage party affairs.
It stated, “While INEC acted within its statutory powers and administrative discretion in extending the deadline for opposition parties to upload names of their candidates, it is noteworthy that the extension was necessitated by the stark failure of opposition parties to manage their internal processes to comply with INEC’s submission deadline despite having fewer candidates to manage compared to the APC.
“This development provides yet another clear indication of the opposition’s chronic inherent weakness and raises legitimate questions about their operational capacity.
“Political parties that cannot efficiently conclude their own internal nomination processes cannot possibly be trusted by Nigerians to possess the competence, discipline, or readiness to govern our great nation or its subnational governments.
“It is starkly ironical that the same opposition parties have repeatedly peddled false, malicious and unfounded tales that the APC controls and dictates INEC’s decisions.
“Yet, as they failed to meet the submission deadline, they shamelessly turned to the same INEC for respite, and were granted an extension.
“And the same APC that would have been the obvious beneficiary if INEC had stood firm on its original deadline kept its distance, having met the deadline and completed its submission.
“Again, this underscores the opposition’s hypocrisy and true character as peddlers of fake news and merchants of blackmail.
“With the successful upload of particulars of all its presidential, vice presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal, APC has, again, demonstrated its leadership and superior organisational capacity, discipline, and solid commitment to due process.”
The ruling party urged its leaders, stakeholders, members, and supporters to remain focused on the challenges ahead.
