The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have commenced the upload of their governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The exercise follows INEC’s election timetable, which fixed July 18 to August 8, 2026, for the submission of governorship and state assembly nomination forms.
PDP National Organising Secretary Umar Bature confirmed that the party began uploading candidates’ details on Saturday, saying the exercise was progressing smoothly and would be completed before the deadline.
“The Peoples Democratic Party commenced the upload of its governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates’ details to INEC’s nomination portal on Saturday. The exercise has been progressing smoothly without any technical issues, and we are confident that the upload process will be completed well ahead of the deadline,” he said.
A senior APC official also confirmed that the ruling party had begun uploading candidates after internal screening and approval by the party’s National Working Committee.
According to the source, priority is being given to incumbent governors seeking re-election, while only candidates cleared by the primary election appeal panel and endorsed by the NWC are being transmitted to INEC.
The APC also constituted a committee headed by Jibrin Bancir, Principal Private Secretary to the party’s National Chairman, to coordinate document verification and submission to the party’s ICT department.
The official added that slight adjustments could still be made to the list following recommendations from the appeal committee before the upload process is concluded.
Earlier, political parties submitted the names of their presidential and National Assembly candidates between June 27 and July 11, 2026, in compliance with the Electoral Act.
INEC has scheduled the publication of presidential and National Assembly candidates’ particulars for August 8, while governorship and State House of Assembly candidates’ details will be displayed on August 29.
The commission also fixed August 22 as the deadline for the withdrawal or substitution of presidential and National Assembly candidates, while governorship and State House of Assembly candidates may be substituted up to September 19.
Governorship elections will be conducted in 28 states, with Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun excluded because of their off-cycle election calendars.
Political parties are expected to upload the names of 28 governorship candidates and 993 State House of Assembly candidates before the close of nominations.
