A major showdown may occur today, Monday, in Ilorin, Kwara State as G15, a group of All Progressives Congress members, aggrived with the outcome of the recent party primaries in the state have dared Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to stop their planned mega rally in the state capital.

DAILY POST gathered authoritatively that the G15 in the state APC, comprising stakeholders, leaders, aggrieved aspirants in the governorship, national and state assemblies primaries had earlier scheduled their rally for Sunday but were outsmarted by the loyalists in the governor’s camp who hurriedly organized their rally on the same day.

The G15 group was forced to postpone its rally for security reasons to avoid possible breakdown of law and order.

However, barely hours after the governor’s camp’s rally, the G15 issued a statement titled “Nothing can stop Monday, tomorrow’s rally”, accusing the governor of alleged plans to frustrate their solidarity walk in the state capital.

The statement read in part, “the G15 Coalition, a formidable bloc within the Kwara State All Progressives Congress (APC) comprising the stakeholders, aspirants and leaders of thought in the party, has issued an unyielding response to fresh allegations that the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is orchestrating a desperate plot to sabotage the coalition’s rescheduled solidarity rally fixed for Monday.

“We have been informed that the Governor, in a last-minute move fuelled by palpable fear, is planning a parallel show of strength—a hastily arranged “thank-you visit” to the Emir’s Palace, deliberately timed to clash with our peaceful procession. 

“This is nothing but a transparent act of political desperation from a man who has suddenly found himself in the minority within his own party.

“It is laughable and frankly pitiful, that a sitting Governor would resort to panic-driven tactics to counter a gathering of party faithful who are exercising their fundamental rights to assemble and express solidarity. 

“The G15 is not a threat to Kwara’s peace; we are the conscience of the APC in this state. The Governor’s alleged move to pay Kwarans to boycott our rally just as earlier done on Sunday exposes his deep-seated fear of the massive outpouring of support that awaits us.

“We have reliably gathered that agents of the Governor have been dispatched to corners of the state, offering financial inducements to civil servants, market women, and youth groups to stay away from the G15 rally, while simultaneously mobilising paid crowds to create a fabricated spectacle of popularity at the Emir’s Palace. 

“This is an insult to the intelligence of Kwarans and a sad commentary on the state of leadership in our beloved state.”

The G15 declared unequivocally that nothing would stop the rally, stressing “Not threats. Not intimidation. Not financial inducements from the government treasury.

“The G15 is driven by the will of the people, and the people of Kwara State are fed up with a leadership that has lost touch with its base.

“Governor AbdulRazaq cannot buy his way out of the reckoning that is coming. He cannot counter genuine grassroots support with rented crowds and state-sponsored mobilisation.”

The group called on the state Police Command and other security agencies to remain neutral and professional in the discharge of their duties.

“Our rally is a peaceful expression of solidarity and a celebration of the democratic ideals that bind us as members of the APC. We will not be provoked, we will not be cowed, and we will not be silenced,” it stated. 

The G15 urged Kwarans to come out today, Monday, in their numbers and show the governor that no amount of blackmail or bribery can diminish the people’s resolve as it stands for inclusion, fairness, and true internal democracy. 

“We are the future of this party, and we will not be intimidated by a desperate empire fighting to retain its fading grip on power,” it further declared.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, some members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State have defected to the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC.

The defectors, who are mostly youths, were received into the NDC on Sunday by the State Publicity Secretary of the party in Kano, Alhaji Yusuf Rabiu Fasaha, alongside Captain Nafe, the party’s candidate for the State House of Assembly in Kumbotso LG.

The development marked a major boost for the NDC in Kumbotso as the new members pledged their loyalty and support for the party’s vision.

Speaking during the event, Alhaji Fasaha described the defection as a clear indication of the NDC’s growing acceptance among the youths.

He assured the new entrants of equal opportunities and inclusion in the party’s structure.

Captain Nafe also welcomed the defectors and called on them to mobilize at the grassroots ahead of the elections, stressing that the NDC remains committed to youth development and people-centered representation.

•APC, PDP, ADC thumb up process •We’ve issues in our party – NNPP •ADC progressing well towards completing exercise —Bolaji Abdullahi

By Soni Daniel, Clifford Ndujihe, Henry Umoru, Omeiza Ajayi, Luminous Jannamike, John Alechenu, Gabriel Ewepu & Gift ChapiOdekina

POLITICAL parties are recording mixed fortunes in the ongoing upload of candidates on the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

With the electoral umpire insisting on July 11 as deadline for the exercise, a host of the parties are having challenges and may not meet the deadline.

Although, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and African Democratic Congress, ADC, among others, told Vanguard, yesterday, that they were able to upload their candidates on INEC portal, some others said they could not accomplish the task with ease, expressing regret over the adoption of the method by the electoral umpire.

Apart from issues with the portal, a host of the parties are yet to conclude selection of running mates for their governorship candidates and some are still resolving nagging issues arising from the primaries.

We’ve hitches with INEC’s portal – BOOT

However, the National Chairman of Because Of Our Tomorrow, BOOT Party, Sonny Adenuga, told Vanguard that it had been difficult to use the INEC portal to upload its candidates for the 2027 general elections after receiving the code last week.

Adenuga said: “We are complying as usual. We will upload all our candidates before the deadline.”

However, he expressed disappointment with the current challenge the party was facing with the portal.

When asked if he had called INEC’s attention to the challenge while trying to upload the party’s candidates, he said, “Yes”. 

But Labour Party has no challenge in uploading its candidates for the next general election, according to an official of the party.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ken Asogwa, confirmed this development in a telephone interview with Vanguard in Abuja yesterday.

He, however, admitted that LP, like most other parties, initially encountered some technical difficulties, adding that the issue had, however, been since resolved.

In response to a question about the nature of the challenges, LP spokesperson said: “We started uploading last week. It has been seamless. The only challenge has been technical.

“You know INEC has automated its system and we earlier submitted a list of successful candidates which has been uploaded in their system. The system sometimes rejects particulars if they do not match what it has.

“If, for instance, a candidate’s surname appears first on their list and we try to load using the same candidate’s first name first, the system may reject it. However, when this is reversed, the process is seamless.”

He noted that apart from the technical challenge, which has now been addressed, the party did not encounter any other issues while uploading the particulars of its candidates.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, declined to comment on the uploading process and deadline set by INEC, when Vanguard asked for inputs.

INEC had earlier opened its Candidate Nomination Portal for political parties to submit Form EC9 and other required documents for presidential, governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly candidate

We’re compliant — ADP

Speaking with Vanguard in Abuja, the Action Democratic Party, ADP stated that it was in compliance with the INEC directive and was progressing to meet the deadline.

The ADP National Chairman, Engr. Yabagi Yusuf Sani, said: “We are fully compliant and progressing to meet the deadlines by INEC.”

The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, said it had been uploading the names of its candidates with little or no challenges and expressed optimism that it would meet INEC’s deadline.

The National Publicity Secretary of NDC, Osa Director, said: “At the NDC, we have been uploading the names of our candidates with little or no challenges.

“ We are confident that we shall meet the deadline set by INEC. Our reconciliation committee and the national leadership of our party are working tirelessly to resolve all outstanding issues emanating from our primaries. We thank our loyal and dedicated members for their understanding and cooperation,” Director said.

On his part, the National Secretary of New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Dipo Olayoku, said he was not aware of the progress being made since INEC granted them access code to upload its candidates.

We’re on course — APC

On its part, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, said it was not encountering any challenge interfacing with the INEC portal, disclosing that the upload of its candidates’ particulars was proceeding seamlessly and on course to meet the commission’s deadline.

A top source within the APC hierarchy, who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said the party had no issues interfacing with the INEC portal, noting that the upload of its candidates’ particulars was proceeding seamlessly to meet the July 11 deadline.

This came as Abimbola Tooki, Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy to APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, maintained that the party’s nomination process remained transparent, fair, and credible.

He said:  “The All Progressives Congress remains committed to a transparent, fair and credible nomination process in line with the provisions of our Constitution, guidelines, and the decisions of the appropriate party organs.”

The development followed the APC’s submission of a revised list of candidates to INEC, in which the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, dropped six senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates who had earlier emerged from primaries conducted in May 2026. 

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, had earlier disclosed that the party received over 700 petitions from aggrieved members over the process, even as the party maintained that its immediate priority was ensuring candidates completed and returned their nomination forms for upload ahead of INEC’s deadline, rather than the public release of the list.

Despite the controversy trailing the review, several prominent APC figures, including four serving governors, cleared the process to contest for Senate seats in the 2027 general election, among other notable names retained on the party’s final list submitted to the electoral commission.

‘We’re on cruise control’- PDP, ADC

On their part, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and African Democratic Congress, ADC, declared that they were ‘on cruise control’ on the matter.

Both opposition parties, expressed confidence in their preparations, saying they were making steady progress and remained on course to meet the deadline.

Speaking separately to Vanguard, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Haruna Jungudo, said the party had encountered no technical, legal or administrative challenges since the exercise began.  

The ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, also said that his party had successfully uploaded its presidential and vice-presidential candidates and was on schedule to complete the process for its National Assembly candidates.

“We are cruising, we are on cruise control. We are fine and have no issues at all. Since we started, everything has been going smoothly. We have encountered no challenges; technical, legal or otherwise, so far. Everything is progressing smoothly, and we are uploading the names of our candidates,” Jungudo said.

He also dismissed reports of irregularities in the nomination process.

“We have had no cases of wrongful or illegal substitution of candidates’ names,” he said.

“The general public, particularly members of the party and our candidates, should redouble their efforts because there are no legal impediments to the party’s success in the forthcoming general elections.

“They should disregard those circulating fake nomination forms and attempting to cause distractions. The pending court case coming up on Tuesday should not be a source of concern to any party member, especially our candidates,” he said.