Fresh details have emerged indicating that no political party, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), met the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) original July 11 deadline for uploading candidates for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.
Sources within INEC, who spoke with Vanguard, said the shortfall affected all registered political parties, contrary to claims by the APC and some other parties that they had completed the exercise before the deadline.
According to the sources, the commission extended the deadline to July 14 after a large percentage of candidates had not been uploaded to its dedicated portal.
One of the sources said, “As of July 11 deadline, before the extension to July 14, over 70 per cent of candidates in the APC had not been uploaded by the party. No party met that deadline.
“The commission had to bend backwards to accommodate them. In fact, the commission opened its back-end to be able to do that.”
APC Had Claimed Compliance
The disclosure contradicted a statement issued by the APC on July 12, in which the party claimed it had successfully submitted the names of its candidates before the original deadline.
The ruling party had described the development as a major administrative achievement, given the number of candidates contesting on its platform for different elective positions.
It also claimed that INEC extended the deadline following requests from opposition parties that were unable to complete the upload process by July 11.
INEC later confirmed the extension in a statement issued by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.
The commission said the revised deadline followed an appeal by the Inter-Party Advisory Council on behalf of political parties that could not upload the names and personal details of their candidates within the stipulated period.
APC Attacked Opposition Parties
Reacting to the extension, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, accused opposition parties of failing to manage their internal nomination processes effectively.
While acknowledging INEC’s power to adjust the deadline, Morka argued that the extension became necessary because opposition parties failed to meet the timeline despite having fewer candidates than 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,” Morka had said.
The APC also accused opposition parties of hypocrisy, saying they had repeatedly alleged that the ruling party controlled INEC but still appealed to the commission for more time.
“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,” the party said.
NEWSNGR understands that the account given by the INEC sources, however, suggested that the deadline extension was not granted because of opposition parties alone, as the ruling party also had a significant number of outstanding candidate submissions.
APC Faces Nomination Disputes
The controversy emerged as the APC continued to face internal disagreements over the selection of candidates in some parts of the country.
Aggrieved members and aspirants from the Apa State Constituency of Benue State staged a protest at the party’s national secretariat, accusing some leaders of attempting to impose a candidate ahead of the primary election.
The protesters, who carried party symbols and sang solidarity songs, demanded a transparent process that would allow members to freely choose their preferred candidate.
Speaking on behalf of the group, a party member identified as Godwin O alleged that some aspirants were being denied a level playing field.
He claimed that plans were underway to issue a “same-day ticket” to a preferred aspirant instead of conducting a proper primary election.
According to him, the alleged action could deepen divisions within the party and weaken its chances in future elections.
The protesters appealed to the APC National Chairman and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) to intervene in the dispute.
They urged the national leadership to protect the party’s structure in the local government and ensure that all aspirants were treated fairly.
The group warned that imposing a candidate could alienate grassroots members and undermine party unity.
They also accused a party leader, Sonny Echono, of having limited involvement in the party’s activities at the grassroots.
The protesters maintained that candidates should emerge on the basis of loyalty, service and acceptance among party members rather than through imposition.
They insisted that only a free, fair and transparent primary election would guarantee justice to all aspirants and preserve the APC’s unity in the constituency.
