•As internal discord trails APC’s State Assembly nomination process

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA—Despite repeated claims by some leading political parties in the country that they beat the July 11 deadline for uploading their National Assembly candidates into a dedicated portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Vanguard checks have revealed the contrary.

Multiple sources at INEC have disclosed that no political party, including the All Progressives Congress, APC, met the commission’s original July 11 deadline for the submission of candidates’ names for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, contradicting the ruling party’s claim that it had successfully complied.

“As of 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 said.

The disclosure came despite a statement issued on July 12 by APC which said it successfully met INEC’s deadline for the submission of names of its candidates for the 2027 elections, describing this as an achievement made possible despite the large number of party candidates contesting on its platform for various elective offices.

The party had noted that at the request of opposition political parties that had failed to meet the July 11 deadline, INEC granted an extension to July 14, 2026.

In a statement issued by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, yesterday, the commission said the deadline in the revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general election had been extended, following an appeal by the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC.

The appeal came on behalf of political parties unable to upload the names and personal particulars of their candidates within the scheduled timeline.

While acknowledging that INEC acted within its statutory powers and administrative discretion in extending the deadline, APC spokesman, Felix Morka, had argued that the extension was necessitated by the failure of opposition parties to manage their internal processes to comply with the submission deadline, despite having fewer candidates to manage, compared to the APC.

“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 said.

The APC had also described as ironical the fact that the same opposition parties had repeatedly peddled what it described as false, malicious and unfounded tales that the APC controlled and dictated INEC’s decisions, yet turned to the same INEC for respite when they failed to meet 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.

But the fresh account from the INEC insider now places that claim in question, with the source insisting that the commission’s decision to extend the deadline was necessitated not by opposition parties alone, but by a shortfall affecting all registered parties, including the APC itself.

Internal discord

The disclosure by the INEC insider comes even as the ruling party grapples with internal wrangling over its candidate nomination process in some of its strongholds.

Aggrieved party stakeholders and aspirants from Apa state constituency of Benue State yesterday staged a protest at the national secretariat of the party, rejecting what they described as alleged imposition of a candidate ahead of the party’s primary election.

The protesters, who chanted solidarity songs and waved party symbols, insisted that the people should be allowed to freely choose their candidate through a transparent and credible primary process.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, one of the party members who simply identified himself as Godwin O, alleged that attempts were being made to deny genuine aspirants a level playing field by issuing a “same-day ticket” to a preferred candidate instead of conducting a proper primary.

According to him, the development threatens the unity of the party and can undermine its electoral fortunes if not urgently addressed.

He called on the APC national chairman and the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, to intervene, describing the national leadership as law-abiding and capable of restoring confidence in the process.

He urged the party leadership to “rescue” the APC structure in the local government, and insisted that the alleged imposition of a candidate would alienate grassroots members and weaken the party ahead of future elections.

The protesters also accused one of the party leaders, Sonny Echono, of having little or no involvement in party activities at the grassroots level, arguing that candidates should emerge based on loyalty, service and acceptance among party members, rather than through imposition. 

They maintained that only a free, fair and transparent primary election would guarantee justice for all aspirants and preserve the unity of the APC in the area.

At press time yesterday, the party leadership had yet to officially respond to the allegations raised by the protesters, and the claims could not be independently verified.