The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has granted access codes to nine registered political parties to enable them to upload the names of their candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The parties reportedly include the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), among others.
The candidates are expected to contest the presidential, governorship, Senate and House of Representatives elections, except in Kogi and Osun states, where governorship elections are conducted off-cycle.
A senior INEC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, dismissed reports that the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) had been denied access to the commission’s candidate nomination portal.
“It is misinformation to suggest that the NDC was denied access code to upload its candidates to the INEC portal,” the official told Leadership.
“The commission has no reason whatsoever to deny any registered political party access to the platform. I can confirm on good authority that the NDC was among the parties that received their access codes to upload the names of their candidates.”
The clarification follows claims by officials of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, which is currently involved in legal proceedings over moves to deregister the party.
According to reports, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, alleged that when officials of the party approached INEC to obtain the access code, they were informed that the commission would get back to them.
“We approached INEC to collect the access code to upload the names of our candidates to the INEC portal. They told us that they would get back to us,” he was quoted as saying, adding that any delay in uploading candidates should not be blamed on the party.
However, the INEC official maintained that the commission had treated all eligible political parties fairly and transparently.
The source added that more political parties were expected to receive their access credentials before the close of business, bringing the total number of parties granted access to about 13.
The official urged Nigerians to disregard reports suggesting that some political parties would be denied access to the candidate nomination portal, stressing that the commission remained committed to providing a level playing field for all participants in the 2027 general elections.
