By Opeyemi Adelakun
Fresh details from inside the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have contradicted public claims by major political parties, revealing that none complied with the commission’s original July 11 deadline for submitting candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The disclosure, made by multiple sources within the electoral commission, indicates that the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other registered political parties all failed to complete the upload of their presidential and National Assembly candidates before the deadline.
According to an INEC source familiar with the process, the commission was compelled to extend the submission window to July 14 because no political party had completed the exercise.
“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,” the source disclosed.
The revelation challenges an earlier statement by the APC, which announced on July 12 that it had successfully submitted the names of its candidates before the deadline, attributing INEC’s subsequent extension solely to requests from opposition parties.
In its official explanation, INEC said the deadline was shifted following an appeal by the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), which sought additional time on behalf of political parties that were unable to upload candidates’ names and personal particulars within the stipulated period.
The commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the extension was granted in line with INEC’s statutory powers and administrative discretion.
Reacting to the extension at the time, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka argued that the additional days became necessary because opposition parties failed to conclude their internal nomination processes despite fielding fewer candidates.
“This development provides yet another clear indication of the opposition’s chronic inherent weakness and raises legitimate questions about their operational capacity.
“Political parties that cannot efficiently conclude their own internal nomination processes cannot possibly be trusted by Nigerians to possess the competence, discipline, or readiness to govern our great nation or its subnational governments,” Morka had stated.
The APC also accused opposition parties of hypocrisy, noting that while they had repeatedly alleged that the ruling party controlled INEC, they later sought the commission’s intervention after missing the submission deadline.
“It is starkly ironical that the same opposition parties have repeatedly peddled false, malicious and unfounded tales that the APC controls and dictates INEC’s decisions.
“Yet, as they failed to meet the submission deadline, they shamelessly turned to the same INEC for respite, and were granted an extension,” the party had said.
However, the latest account from INEC insiders suggests the extension benefited all political parties, including the APC, rather than opposition parties alone.
Meanwhile, the ruling party is also contending with internal disagreements over its candidate selection process in some parts of the country.
At the APC national secretariat in Abuja, aggrieved stakeholders and aspirants from Apa State Constituency in Benue State staged a protest, alleging attempts to impose a preferred candidate ahead of the party’s primary election.
The protesters demanded a transparent and credible primary, insisting that party members should freely choose their candidate.
Speaking on behalf of the group, a party member identified simply as Godwin O alleged that some leaders were attempting to issue a “same-day ticket” to a preferred aspirant instead of allowing a proper contest.
He warned that such actions could divide the party and weaken its electoral prospects if left unchecked.
The protesters called on the APC National Chairman and the National Working Committee to intervene and restore confidence in the nomination process.
They also accused party chieftain Sonny Echono of having little involvement in grassroots party activities, arguing that candidates should emerge based on loyalty, service and acceptance among party members rather than imposition.
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