Nigeria Election: Parties Submit Candidates Amidst Upload Concerns and Internal Disputes

Nigerian political parties have submitted their presidential and National Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal, meeting the July 11, 2026 deadline. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) reported making substantial progress, uploading candidates with minimal challenges. The NDC's National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, confirmed successful uploads, expressing confidence in meeting the deadline. The SDP's National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, noted initial technical difficulties with the INEC portal but stated the party had overcome them and uploaded its presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, and vice-presidential candidate, Dr Usman Bugaje, along with a significant number of National Assembly candidates.

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The NDC has been uploading the names of its candidates successfully with minimal challenges. We are hopeful that we will successfully upload all the names within INEC’s deadline.

However, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presented conflicting accounts due to an ongoing leadership dispute. The faction recognized by INEC, led by National Chairman Dr Agbo Major, stated efforts were underway to upload cleared candidates within the legal timeframe, despite time constraints from the late recognition of their National Working Committee. Conversely, a rival NNPP faction, acting under Bala Mohammed and formerly led by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, claimed it could not upload candidates. Its National Secretary, Dipo Olayoku, explained that INEC issued the required access code to the Agbo Major-led faction, preventing their participation in the upload process despite attending training sessions.

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Though we had time constraints due to the late recognition of the National Working Committee I lead, we are working tirelessly to ensure that all candidates who have met the legal requirements and have been cleared by the party are uploaded on the INEC portal within the stipulated time allowed by law.