APC Kicks Off 2027 Candidate Upload On INEC Portal

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commenced the digital upload of its governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates onto the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to Ireporter Online, the party is giving priority to its 16 incumbent governors seeking re-election as part of efforts to meet the statutory deadline for candidate submission.

Among the governors expected to receive priority 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, Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto, Agbu Kefas of Taraba and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara.

The party is also preparing to upload the details of 12 first-time governorship candidates, including Obafemi Hamzat for Lagos, Solomon Adeola for Ogun, Ogundu Kingsley Chinda for Rivers, Eric Opah for Abia, Mohammed Abubakar for Bauchi, Mustapha Gubio for Borno, Jamilu Gwamna for Gombe, Ahmed Aliyu Wadada for Nasarawa and Baba Malam Wali for Yobe.

The upload exercise reportedly began at the APC National Headquarters in Abuja, where the party’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) department has commenced processing nomination documents.

The exercise covers 28 governorship candidates and 993 State Houses of Assembly candidates across the country. Governorship elections will not take place in Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun states because of their off-cycle election schedules.

To ensure a seamless submission process, the APC leadership has constituted a special vetting committee responsible for receiving, verifying and clearing nomination documents from state chairmen before forwarding them to the ICT department for upload.

The committee is headed by Hon. Jibrin Bancir, the Principal Private Secretary to the APC National Chairman, and is expected to ensure that all documentation complies with INEC requirements before the August 8 deadline.

Under the Electoral Act 2026, political parties are required to submit the names of their candidates together with the necessary statutory forms and affidavits within the timeline set by INEC. The law also restricts alterations to candidate submissions once the nomination portal closes.

INEC officially opened the ICNP platform on July 18 and is expected to close it automatically on August 8, 2026, for the submission of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates.

Meanwhile, the APC’s final list of State Assembly candidates remains subject to review following recommendations from the party’s Primary Elections Appeal Committee, which reportedly overturned some outcomes of the primary elections.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, disclosed that the party received more than 700 petitions after its primary elections, adding that some candidates may be replaced following the implementation of the appeal committee’s recommendations to promote fairness and party unity.

With the deadline approaching, the party’s ICT department is said to be working in shifts to complete the upload process and ensure full compliance with INEC’s regulations.