2027 Race: Aspirants Await INEC Confirmation

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday opened its portal for political parties to upload the particulars of their candidates for the 2027 general election.

However, for many aspirants who participated in their parties’ primaries, particularly those seeking legislative seats in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly, the development has been greeted with mixed emotions.
Unlike previous elections where successful aspirants were issued certificates of return and given INEC nomination forms to complete before submission to party headquarters for upload, many political parties have yet to publish the names of their successful candidates.
Among the major political parties, only the Labour Party (LP) has released its list of candidates. The party announced that it had cleared 1,211 candidates to contest the 2027 general election on its platform.
The list comprises one presidential candidate, 28 governorship candidates, 99 senatorial candidates, 307 House of Representatives candidates, and 776 State House of Assembly candidates. The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) ratified the list on June 28.
The failure of other political parties to make their candidates’ lists public has created uncertainty among many aspirants. About two weeks ago, Sunday Telegraph reported growing discontent within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the inability of many serving senators and members of the House of Representatives to secure tickets for re-election.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, acknowledged the situation during the inauguration of the APC National Campaign Council for the Ekiti governorship election, joking that some lawmakers had developed high blood pressure.
“The party is supreme. I’m only pleading with the party to ensure that when they release their final list, they include all of us. Some of my people have hypertension,” Akpabio appealed.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, admitted that publishing the list of successful candidates could generate problems for the party. He suggested that the names should instead be published on INEC’s website, where aspirants can verify their status.
Candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) are also experiencing similar uncertainty, with some aspirants openly condemning the conduct of their parties’ primaries and accusing party leaders of manipulating the process.
The situation in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) differs slightly, as both the Nyesom Wike and Kabiru Tanimu Turaki factions have issued certificates of return to their candidates. However, only the Wike faction is recognised by INEC.
RadarrNews gathered that political parties may have withheld the publication of candidates’ lists to avoid possible backlash.
An aspirant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the situation to the mode of primaries provided under the Electoral Act, 2026.
According to the aspirant, except where consensus was adopted, party leaders largely determine the outcome of direct primaries.
“The primaries are conducted in different constituencies, unlike indirect primaries where delegates gather in one location to vote.
“You know the number of delegates and votes from the beginning, making it difficult to inflate figures in favour of a preferred aspirant. While manipulation is still possible, the figures can be challenged before the appeal committee.
“That is not the case with direct primaries. That is why strange figures often emerge during counting, and there is no way to verify them because no actual votes were cast,” the source said.
A former minister and senator from Lagos State also described the APC primaries in many states as a sham, alleging that party members were unaware of who eventually emerged as candidates because lists were compiled by influential party leaders.
“There was no election anywhere. What happened was a charade. I know someone who scored 37,000 votes in the primaries, yet the person declared winner was credited with only 2,000 votes.
“So, what do you call that? The adoption of consensus and direct primaries has reversed the gains made in previous electoral processes. As things stand, it is only when you see your name on INEC’s website that you can truly say you contested or won,” the former minister said.

Source: Radarrnews.com