No fewer than three political parties failed to upload the names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal before the Tuesday, July 14 deadline elapsed, according to a senior INEC official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Parties That Missed the Deadline
The INEC source disclosed that the parties are the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, and the Nemadi Usman faction of the Labour Party.
These parties did not comply with the electoral body's requirement to submit candidate details via the designated online platform within the stipulated timeframe. The failure to upload the names raises questions about their participation in the upcoming presidential election.
Implications for the Affected Parties
Under Nigeria's electoral laws, parties that fail to submit candidate lists to INEC may be barred from fielding candidates in the election. However, the affected parties could seek legal redress or request an extension from the commission. As of the time of this report, none of the parties had issued an official statement regarding their omission.
INEC has yet to release an official list of all parties that complied with the deadline. The commission is expected to publish the final list of candidates after verification.
