POLITICAL parties are recording mixed fortunes in the ongoing upload of candidates on the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with some expressing confidence and others battling technical and administrative challenges ahead of the July 11 deadline.
News Point Nigeria reports that while major parties such as the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Labour Party (LP), Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) say they are making steady progress, smaller parties, including the Because Of Our Tomorrow (BOOT) Party, say they are struggling with the INEC portal.
INEC has insisted that July 11 remains the deadline for political parties to upload the particulars of their candidates for the 2027 general elections, including presidential, governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly contests.
Vanguard gathered that although the APC, PDP and ADC said they had successfully uploaded their candidates, some other parties complained that the process had not been easy and expressed regret over the electoral umpire’s adoption of the online method.
Beyond issues with the portal, several parties are yet to conclude the selection of running mates for their governorship candidates, while others are still resolving disputes arising from their primaries.
The National Chairman of the BOOT Party, Sonny Adenuga, told Vanguard that it had been difficult for the party to upload its candidates after receiving its access code last week.
“We are complying as usual. We will upload all our candidates before the deadline,” he said.
Adenuga, however, expressed disappointment over the challenges the party was encountering with the portal and confirmed that INEC had been notified.
“Yes,” he replied when asked whether the commission had been informed.
An official of the Labour Party said the party was not experiencing difficulties with the upload exercise.
LP National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, confirmed in a telephone interview that the party had initially encountered technical issues but that the problems had since been resolved.
“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 said that apart from the technical issue, which had now been addressed, the party had no other challenge with the upload of candidates’ particulars.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) declined to comment on the upload process and the July 11 deadline when approached by Vanguard.
Speaking in Abuja, the Action Democratic Party said it was complying with INEC’s directive and was on track to meet the deadline.
ADP National Chairman, Engr. Yabagi Yusuf Sani, said: “We are fully compliant and progressing to meet the deadlines by INEC.”
The Nigeria Democratic Congress also said it had been uploading candidates’ names with little or no difficulty.
NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, stated: “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.”
Meanwhile, NNPP National Secretary, Dipo Olayoku, said he was not aware of the level of progress being made since the party received its access code from INEC.
The ruling APC said it was experiencing no difficulty with the INEC portal and remained on course to meet the deadline.
A top party source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the upload of candidates’ particulars was proceeding seamlessly.
Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy to APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, Abimbola Tooki, said the party remained committed to a transparent nomination process.
“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 APC recently submitted a revised list of candidates to INEC, dropping six senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates who had emerged from the party’s May 2026 primaries.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, had earlier revealed that the party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved members over the process, while stressing that its immediate priority was ensuring candidates completed and returned their nomination forms before INEC’s deadline.
Despite the controversy, several prominent APC figures, including four serving governors seeking Senate seats, were retained on the party’s final list submitted to INEC.
The PDP and ADC also expressed confidence that they would meet the deadline.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Haruna Jungudo, said the party had encountered no technical, legal or administrative obstacles.
“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.”
He also dismissed reports of irregularities.
“We have had no cases of wrongful or illegal substitution of candidates’ names.
“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.”
Similarly, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party had successfully uploaded its presidential and vice-presidential candidates and remained on schedule to complete the process for its National Assembly candidates.
With INEC maintaining July 11 as the final deadline for candidate nominations, political parties are now racing against time to complete uploads, resolve outstanding disputes and finalise the selection of running mates ahead of the 2027 general elections.