Four political parties — the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and New Democratic Congress (NDC) — have confirmed the completion of the electronic submission of their candidates for the 2027 general elections ahead of the extended deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The parties confirmed that their candidates had been uploaded to the electoral commission’s portal as the revised deadline for the exercise approaches.
INEC had initially fixed Saturday, August 8, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to submit their candidates electronically. The commission subsequently extended the exercise by three days to Tuesday, August 11, following appeals from parties that had yet to complete the process.
Candidate Submission Reaches Deadline Stage
The electronic upload covers candidates nominated by political parties for the various elective positions to be contested in the 2027 general elections.
The APC said it completed the exercise before the original August 8 deadline, while the PDP, NDC and SDP also confirmed that their submissions had been completed.
The development comes as political parties approach the end of the extended period provided for the electronic submission of candidates.
APC Confirms Completion
The National Chairman of the APC, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, said the ruling party completed the exercise before the original deadline.
According to him, the party successfully uploaded candidates for all elective positions, including state Houses of Assembly, National Assembly, governorship and presidential contests.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, Yilwatda said the process involved the nomination, documentation, verification and electronic submission of thousands of candidates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Yilwatda said the APC had demonstrated its preparedness for the 2027 elections by completing the process ahead of the deadline.
He said, “The APC has once again demonstrated that we are prepared for the responsibility of governing Nigeria. We did not wait until the last minute.
“We planned, coordinated our structures and ensured that our candidates were successfully uploaded before the expiration of the original deadline. This is what organisation, discipline and responsible political leadership mean.”
He described the completion of the exercise as an indication of the party’s preparedness for the 2027 elections.
PDP, NDC And SDP Confirm Uploads
The spokesman for the Wike-led faction of the PDP, Jungudo Haruna, also confirmed that the group had completed the electronic upload of its candidates.
“We have uploaded our candidates’ names. There were no glitches,” Haruna told Punch.
The NDC spokesman, Osa Director, similarly confirmed that the party had concluded its submission.
“We have completed ours,” he said.
The SDP spokesman, Rufus Aiyenigba, also confirmed that the party had successfully submitted its candidates through the electoral commission’s portal.
The confirmations mean that the four parties have reported completing the electronic submission process ahead of the revised deadline.
Why The Deadline Was Extended
The original deadline for the submission of candidates was August 8, 2026.
However, the exercise was extended by three days to August 11 after political parties appealed for additional time to complete their submissions.
The extension therefore gave parties that had not concluded the process under the original timetable an additional period to upload their candidates through the INEC portal.
The supplied information does not state how many other parties had completed or were yet to complete their submissions at the time of the four parties’ confirmations.
What The Completion Means
The completion of the electronic upload represents an important administrative stage in the parties’ preparations for the 2027 general elections.
For the APC, PDP, NDC and SDP, the confirmations indicate that their candidate information has been electronically submitted through the prescribed portal.
However, the supplied information only establishes the parties’ confirmation of submission. It does not state that INEC had, at that point, formally approved or cleared all the submitted candidates.
The process described by the APC also involved nomination, documentation, verification and electronic submission across the different levels of elective contests.
Extended Deadline
With the extended deadline set for Tuesday, August 11, political parties that have yet to complete the exercise are expected to conclude their submissions before the INEC portal closes.
The immediate focus therefore remains on the completion of the candidate-upload process before the expiration of the extended deadline, as parties continue preparations for the 2027 general elections.
