PDP and APC upload governorship candidates
ABUJA – Nigeria’s two leading political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party and the ruling All Progressives Congress, have begun uploading the names and details of their governorship and State House of Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Candidate Nomination Portal ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The development represents another critical stage in preparations for the nationwide polls, following the conclusion of party primaries and internal processes for resolving disputes arising from the selection of candidates.
The PDP and APC upload governorship candidates exercise commenced after INEC opened its nomination portal for state-level elections at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, 2026. Political parties have until 6:00 p.m. on August 8, 2026, to complete the submission of their governorship and State House of Assembly candidates.
Speaking on the process, PDP National Organising Secretary Umar Bature confirmed that the opposition party began uploading the details of its candidates on Saturday.
Bature said the submission was progressing without technical difficulties and expressed confidence that the party would complete the exercise before the deadline fixed by the electoral commission.
“The Peoples Democratic Party commenced the upload of its governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates’ details to INEC’s nomination portal on Saturday,” he said.
According to him, the party expects to conclude the exercise well ahead of the August 8 deadline.
The PDP and APC upload governorship candidates process is particularly important because parties that fail to submit their candidates within the timeframe prescribed by INEC could lose the opportunity to field nominees for the affected positions.
A senior official of the APC also confirmed that the ruling party had started the submission process. The official, who reportedly spoke anonymously because he had not been authorised to make a public statement, said only candidates cleared through the party’s established procedures would be uploaded.
The APC is expected to submit the names of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates whose nominations have survived petitions before primary election appeal panels and received the approval of the party’s National Working Committee.
This requirement is intended to prevent unresolved or disputed nominations from being transmitted to INEC prematurely.
Parties move from primaries to formal nominations
The commencement of the PDP and APC upload governorship candidates exercise shifts attention from the often-contentious primary election season to formal nomination and verification.
Under Nigeria’s electoral framework, political parties are responsible for sponsoring candidates. However, the individuals submitted to INEC must be those who emerged from valid party primaries conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act, the commission’s regulations and the parties’ constitutions.
INEC previously warned political parties that its portal would reject candidates who did not emerge from primaries monitored by the commission. The electoral body maintained that only properly nominated candidates would be accepted through its Candidate Nomination Portal.
The electronic submission system allows parties to enter the personal particulars, photographs and required documents of their candidates before the portal closes.
Although the PDP and APC upload governorship candidates exercise has begun, the submitted names should not immediately be regarded as the final list of candidates for the elections.
INEC will still review the submissions, publish candidates’ personal particulars and provide opportunities for objections, legal challenges, withdrawals and substitutions in accordance with the law.
INEC fixes August 29 for publication of particulars
According to the electoral timetable, INEC will publish the personal particulars of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates on August 29, 2026.
The publication will allow members of the public, rival candidates and political parties to examine the information submitted by nominees.
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The commission has also fixed September 19, 2026, as the deadline for the withdrawal or lawful substitution of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates.
Substitution is not an unrestricted opportunity for party leaders to replace candidates after the primaries. Under the Electoral Act, a political party generally cannot change or substitute a candidate except in legally recognised circumstances, including death or voluntary withdrawal.
The PDP and APC upload governorship candidates exercise therefore carries significant legal consequences. Once valid nominations are submitted, political parties cannot simply alter their lists to satisfy new political arrangements without complying with the law.
This explains the APC’s decision to upload only candidates whose nominations have been cleared by its appeal panels and approved by the National Working Committee.
For the PDP, the exercise is taking place against the background of internal disagreements and competing claims to the party’s national leadership. Those disputes have created questions over which officials possess the lawful authority to transmit candidates’ names to INEC.
Earlier reports indicated that control of the nomination portal had become a major point of contention among rival interests within political parties as the submission period approached.
Nomination stage could trigger fresh court cases
As the PDP and APC upload governorship candidates, unsuccessful aspirants are expected to examine the lists closely to determine whether the names correspond with the results of the primaries.
Nigeria’s recent electoral history shows that disagreements arising from party nominations often move from internal appeal panels to the courts.
Such cases may involve allegations of unlawful exclusion, forged documents, irregular primaries, violation of zoning arrangements or the substitution of candidates without following statutory procedures.
Political parties are therefore under pressure to ensure that every submitted name is supported by proper documentation and reflects a nomination process recognised by both the law and the electoral commission.
The APC had earlier announced the completion of the upload of 471 candidates for the presidential and National Assembly elections. The submissions included its presidential and vice-presidential ticket, 109 senatorial candidates and 360 House of Representatives candidates.
The PDP also announced the upload of its presidential, vice-presidential and National Assembly candidates to the commission’s portal. A screenshot associated with the announcement reportedly showed 410 candidate forms registered, with 367 submitted and 42 pending at the time.
The latest phase concerns governorship contests and membership of the State Houses of Assembly, offices that will significantly influence governance, lawmaking and resource allocation across the federation after the elections.
Scrutiny will increase after publication
The fact that the PDP and APC upload governorship candidates does not amount to an endorsement of the nominees by INEC.
The commission’s responsibility at this stage is to receive submissions made by political parties and process them according to the Electoral Act and its regulations.
Questions concerning a candidate’s eligibility, educational qualifications, membership of a political party or compliance with nomination rules may still become subjects of petitions and litigation.
Political parties must also ensure that their candidates satisfy the constitutional requirements for the offices they seek.
INEC’s publication of personal particulars on August 29 will mark the beginning of a more intense period of public scrutiny. Nigerians will then have an opportunity to see the candidates submitted by the parties, subject to any lawful changes before the September 19 deadline.
Race against August 8 deadline
With the nomination portal now active, officials of both parties are expected to work through hundreds of candidate forms covering governorship and State House of Assembly positions across the country.
The PDP and APC upload governorship candidates exercise must be completed before 6:00 p.m. on August 8. Unless INEC formally announces otherwise, parties should not assume that additional time will be granted after the deadline.
The commission previously adopted a firm position on the submission of presidential and National Assembly candidates, warning parties that it would not indefinitely extend the nomination period.
For now, neither party has released a complete nationwide list of the governorship and assembly candidates uploaded to the portal.
That list is expected to become clearer when INEC publishes the candidates’ particulars. Until then, claims about individual nominees should be treated cautiously and verified against official party statements or documents released by the electoral commission.
The PDP and APC upload governorship candidates exercise may appear administrative, but it is one of the most consequential steps before the general election. Errors, disputed nominations or missed deadlines could remove candidates from the ballot and reshape political contests in several states.
As the August 8 deadline approaches, attention will remain fixed on the parties, INEC and the courts, where some of the unresolved battles over the 2027 tickets may ultimately be settled.
