Fresh details have emerged over the submission of candidates for the 2027 general election, with multiple sources at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revealing that no registered political party met the original July 11 deadline for uploading National Assembly candidates.
The disclosure contradicts an earlier claim by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which had announced that it successfully complied with the commission’s deadline before INEC later extended the submission window to July 14.
According to sources familiar with the process, more than 70 percent of the APC’s candidates had not been uploaded to INEC’s dedicated portal by the July 11 deadline. The sources added that the commission had to make administrative adjustments to allow parties complete the process after extending the timeline.
“As of the 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,” one source said.
INEC officially announced the extension on Monday through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna. The commission said the decision followed an appeal by the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), which requested more time for political parties that had not completed the upload of candidates’ names and personal details.
Before the latest revelation, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka had maintained that the party met the original deadline despite fielding candidates across numerous elective positions. He argued that the extension became necessary because opposition parties failed to conclude their internal nomination processes on schedule.
Morka further questioned the readiness of opposition parties to govern, saying parties unable to organize their own primaries should not be trusted with running the country. He also described it as ironic that opposition parties, which had accused the APC of influencing INEC’s decisions, later sought the commission’s intervention after missing the deadline.
Meanwhile, the ruling party is also facing internal tensions over its candidate selection process. On Monday, aggrieved APC members from Apa State Constituency in Benue State staged a protest at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, alleging the planned imposition of a preferred candidate ahead of the primary election.
The protesters called on the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) to ensure a transparent primary, warning that imposing candidates could divide the party and weaken its chances in future elections. They also accused party leader Sonny Echono of lacking grassroots involvement, insisting that candidates should emerge through a free and credible process rather than political favoritism.
As of the time of filing this report, the APC had not issued an official response to the allegations raised by the Benue protesters, while the claims remain independently unverified.
