PDP, APC Begin Upload Of 2027 Governorship Candidates To INEC Portal- Ekohotblog

PDP, APC Begin Upload Of 2027 Governorship, State Assembly Candidates To INEC Portal
INEC’s deadline for governorship nominations is August 8, 2026.
APC says only cleared candidates are being submitted for nomination.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have commenced the submission of the names and particulars of their governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, confirmed that the opposition party began the exercise on Saturday, while a senior APC official disclosed that the ruling party had also started uploading details of candidates cleared by its primary election appeal panel and the National Working Committee (NWC).

Speaking on the exercise, Bature said the PDP had encountered no technical challenges since the process commenced.

“The Peoples Democratic Party commenced the upload of its governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates’ details to INEC’s nomination portal on Saturday.

“The exercise has been progressing smoothly without any technical issues, and we are confident that the upload process will be completed well ahead of the deadline,” he said.

INEC had scheduled the submission of nomination forms for governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates to run from 9:00 a.m. on July 18 to 6:00 p.m. on August 8, 2026.

The electoral commission had earlier received the nomination lists of presidential and National Assembly candidates from political parties between June 27 and July 11, alongside Forms EC9 and EC9A to EC9E, in compliance with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

An APC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to address the media, said the party was prioritising the submission of candidates seeking to retain their seats.

“I can confirm that the party commenced the upload process yesterday, with priority given to the 16 governors seeking re-election,” the official said.

The source explained that only candidates whose nominations survived petitions before the primary election appeal committee and received approval from the National Working Committee would be uploaded to the INEC portal.

“There could be slight changes to the initial list of candidates, as the primary election appeal committee reviewed some petitions and submitted its recommendations to the National Working Committee.

“So, only candidates who passed the appeal committee’s review and received the approval of the NWC were uploaded to the INEC portal.

“We are confident that the exercise will be completed before the deadline,” the source added.

Among the incumbent governors expected to feature on the APC list are Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Hyacinth Alia of Benue, Uba Sani of Kaduna, Abba Yusuf of Kano, Dikko Radda of Katsina, Nasir Idris of Kebbi, Umaru Bago of Niger, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto, Agbu Kefas of Taraba and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara.

The list is also expected to include first time governorship candidates such as Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, Senator Solomon Adeola in Ogun State, Kingsley Chinda in Rivers State, Eric Opah in Abia State, Mohammed Abubakar in Bauchi State, Mustapha Gubio in Borno State, Jamilu Gwamna in Gombe State, Ahmed Wadada in Nasarawa State and Baba Malam Wali in Yobe State.

According to the APC official, the party has constituted a committee headed by Jibrin Bancir, Principal Private Secretary to the party’s National Chairman, to coordinate the collection, verification and transmission of documents required for the nomination process.

“The committee is responsible for receiving documents from state chairmen, verifying the details, ensuring all requirements are met, and forwarding them to the ICT department for upload.

“The arrangement is aimed at making the process seamless, efficient and timely,” the source said.

According to INEC’s election timetable, the personal particulars of presidential and National Assembly candidates will be published on August 8, while those of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates will be displayed on August 29.

Political parties have until August 22 to withdraw or substitute presidential and National Assembly candidates, while the deadline for the withdrawal or substitution of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates is September 19.

PDP, APC Begin Upload Of 2027 Governorship Candidates To INEC Portal

The PDP, APC and other registered political parties are expected to submit a combined total of 28 governorship candidates and 993 State Houses of Assembly candidates nationwide.

Governorship elections will not be conducted in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun states, as their governorship polls are held outside the general election cycle.