By Opeyemi Adelakun
The All Progressives Congress has completed the electronic submission of its candidates for the 2027 general elections, days before the Independent National Electoral Commission’s revised deadline.
The APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, disclosed this on Sunday, saying the party concluded the process before INEC’s original August 8 deadline.
The development gives the ruling party additional time to concentrate on other aspects of its preparations for the 2027 elections, including campaign coordination, candidate engagement and grassroots mobilisation.
INEC had initially scheduled Saturday, August 8, as the deadline for political parties to upload their candidates through its online portal. The commission subsequently extended the deadline to Tuesday, August 11, following appeals from parties that had yet to complete their submissions.
Yilwatda said the APC’s submission covered candidates for elective positions ranging from the State Houses of Assembly to the presidential election.
He attributed the early completion to what he described as effective coordination between the party’s national and state structures, candidates and election management teams.
“The APC has once again demonstrated that we are prepared for the responsibility of governing Nigeria. We did not wait until the last minute,” Yilwatda said.
“We planned ahead, 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 added.
The APC chairman spoke in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki.
According to Yilwatda, the exercise involved the nomination, documentation, verification and electronic submission of candidates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He described the process as a major test of the party’s organisational capacity, given the number of candidates and party structures involved in the exercise.
The APC leader said the completion of the submission process should also prompt voters to assess political parties based on their ability to organise and comply with electoral requirements.
“Governance is not an experiment. The management of a country as complex as Nigeria requires planning, coordination, discipline, competence and the ability to deliver within deadlines,” he said.
Yilwatda argued that parties seeking the mandate of Nigerians should demonstrate organisational capacity beyond campaign promises.
“If a political organisation cannot effectively organise its own internal processes, coordinate its candidates and meet simple statutory and administrative deadlines, Nigerians must ask serious questions about its preparedness to manage the affairs of the nation,” he added.
He said completing the upload ahead of schedule would allow the APC to shift its attention to other areas of its electoral preparations, including policy communication, grassroots mobilisation, reconciliation and engagement with its candidates.
“The work has only begun. Completing the upload ahead of schedule gives us confidence, but it also places a greater responsibility on us. We must remain united, disciplined and focused,” Yilwatda said.
The APC chairman said the party would continue its preparations for the 2027 contest, describing its proposed message to voters as one centred on “competence, continuity, stability and national development”.
The 2027 elections are expected to produce a major political contest, with opposition parties seeking to challenge the APC’s hold on the presidency and make gains across federal and state institutions.
While the ruling party has completed its candidate uploads, other political parties have until August 11 to finalise their submissions following INEC’s extension.
Yilwatda commended members of the party’s National Working Committee, state leadership, candidates and election management teams for their roles in completing the exercise.
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