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Three political parties failed to submit the names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) closed its candidate nomination portal for the 2027 general election.
An INEC official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorised to comment publicly, identified the affected parties as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the Nyesom Wike-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Nenadi Usman-led faction of the Labour Party (LP).
According to the official, nearly all registered political parties successfully uploaded the names and particulars of their presidential and National Assembly candidates before the portal closed at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday.
INEC had earlier extended the submission deadline from July 11 to July 14 following appeals from several political parties, maintaining that no further extension would be granted.
The commission is expected to begin processing the submissions in line with the Electoral Act and its nomination guidelines.
Major political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), successfully uploaded the names of their presidential candidates and running mates.
The APC submitted President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for re-election, while the ADC uploaded Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi. The NDC also submitted Peter Obi as its presidential candidate alongside Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate.
However, INEC sources disclosed that some political parties uploaded only the names of their presidential candidates without indicating their vice-presidential nominees.
The sources also revealed that uncertainty persisted over the identities of some National Assembly candidates in states including Benue, Kwara and Nasarawa, where disputes over nominations were still unresolved.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised over the status of the ADC's candidates following a Court of Appeal judgment restraining INEC from recognising state congresses conducted by the faction led by former Senate President David Mark.
Despite the ruling, checks showed that David Mark remained listed on the INEC portal as the ADC National Chairman, alongside members of the party's current National Working Committee.
The development has generated fresh debate over the implication of the court judgment on the party's leadership and candidate recognition ahead of the 2027 polls.
The ADC also called for the arrest and prosecution of former Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala Gombe, over claims that he obtained INEC's access code and uploaded candidates on behalf of the party.
The party's National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the alleged document circulated by Gombe as forged and welcomed INEC's clarification dismissing the claim as false.
According to the party, the electoral commission should refer the matter to law enforcement agencies to protect the credibility of Nigeria's electoral process.
Similarly, the Nigeria Democratic Congress announced that it had successfully uploaded the names of its candidates after obtaining access to the INEC nomination portal.
The party's National Leader, Henry Seriake Dickson, said it had also filed an appeal and an application for a stay of execution over a recent court judgment affecting the party.
In a related development, a legal battle over the Accord Party's presidential ticket continued on Tuesday after a court adjourned the matter until Wednesday.
Presidential aspirant Olawepo Gbenga-Hashim is asking the court to declare him the party's lawful presidential candidate or, alternatively, order a fresh primary election.
As of press time, it remained unclear whether his name had been uploaded to the INEC portal because of the pending court proceedings.
