Political Parties Delay Publishing Final Candidate Lists for 2027 Elections
Several weeks after concluding their primary elections, major political parties have still not released the final lists of candidates for the 2027 general elections. This delay is creating anxiety among aspirants and raising questions about the transparency of the nomination process.
The parties affected include the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Labour Party (LP).
The situation arises despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announcing that it would issue official access codes to political parties for the Candidate Nomination Portal on June 26, 2026.
Many governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly aspirants remain uncertain about their political futures as parties continue to withhold the final nomination lists.
The delay has triggered allegations of internal crises and claims that some parties are deliberately postponing publication to limit opportunities for aggrieved aspirants to challenge the primary outcomes in court.
APC’s Response and Internal Concerns
The APC has acknowledged the growing concerns among its members regarding the delay. Senate President Godswill Akpabio recently appealed to the party leadership to handle the release of the final list with caution, noting that some of his constituents suffer from hypertension due to the uncertainty.
When contacted, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka told THISDAY that the list would be released “soon.” However, party insiders disclosed that appeal committees are still reviewing complaints arising from the primaries.
A senior party official, speaking anonymously, said, “As we are talking, the appeal committees are still sitting. I doubt if the party will publish any list because it would create a lot of problems.” Another chieftain suggested the leadership is carefully managing tensions to prevent internal sabotage and protest votes ahead of the elections.
NDC’s Position on Public Disclosure
The NDC defended its decision not to publicly release the names of successful aspirants, arguing that there is no legal requirement compelling parties to do so. National Publicity Secretary Osa Director stated that all candidates who participated in the primaries had already been informed of the outcomes.
He added that the party had fulfilled all legal obligations and that INEC already possesses the relevant records, noting, “Therefore, as it is, INEC already has a list of candidates.” According to him, the June 26 deadline was primarily for parties to authenticate and upload their final nominations to the commission.
PDP, ADC and Labour Party Updates
The faction of the PDP aligned with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike said it is awaiting ratification by the party’s National Executive Committee before publishing its candidate lists. National Publicity Secretary Haruna Jungudo confirmed that all nomination exercises and appeals had been concluded under INEC supervision and that the party is now awaiting the NEC meeting for ratification.
The ADC also confirmed that it had completed all primary elections but insisted it is still operating within INEC’s timetable. National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi said, “We have conducted the primaries of all categories of the elections and the processes monitored by INEC. We are within INEC’s approved timetable, so I can say we are merely biding our time.”
Similarly, the Labour Party said it had ratified 1,211 candidates for various elective offices and would begin uploading their names to the INEC portal on June 28. National Publicity Secretary Ken Asogwa noted that the National Executive Committee had already approved the nominations.
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