INEC Portal: Uzodimma, Buni, Others Details Uploaded As APC Fixes Date For Tinubu, Running Mate

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it is on course to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) July 11 deadline for the submission of its presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections.

A senior member of the party’s National Working Committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the uploading of candidates’ details had reached an advanced stage.

The source disclosed that the details of President Bola Tinubu and his running mate were expected to be uploaded to the INEC portal by the middle of the week.

“We are progressing smoothly with the uploading of the details of our National Assembly candidates,” the source told The Nation.

“We hope that on or before next Wednesday, we shall upload the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate. We are completely sure of meeting the July 11 deadline for uploading all our candidates on the INEC portal.”

Checks at the APC’s Information and Communications Technology department at the Muhammadu Buhari House national secretariat in Abuja on Sunday indicated that the party’s technical team had continued to interface with the INEC portal without disruption.

Sources in the department said the details of most principal officers of the 10th National Assembly and several serving lawmakers had already been uploaded.

They added that the details of four serving governors – AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State – had also been uploaded to the electoral commission’s portal.

The governors are among prominent APC members who secured the party’s senatorial tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The race to meet INEC’s deadline followed a review of the APC’s primary elections after hundreds of petitions were submitted by aggrieved aspirants.

The party recently forwarded a revised list of candidates to INEC after its NWC removed six senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates who had earlier emerged from the May primaries.

The changes affected constituencies in Abia, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi, Ondo, Kaduna, Niger and Kwara states.

The substitutions followed recommendations by the party’s Primary Election Appeal Committee.

The revised list was transmitted to INEC through a letter jointly signed by the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and the National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the ruling party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved members following the conclusion of its primaries.

“The party received over 700 petitions from aggrieved members following the conclusion of our shadow elections,” Morka said.

The party’s leadership subsequently reviewed recommendations arising from the petitions, leading to changes in some constituencies while candidates whose victories survived the appeal process retained their tickets.

Morka declined to disclose when the APC’s final list of candidates would be made public.

He said the party’s immediate priority was to ensure that all approved candidates completed and returned their INEC Form EC9 nomination documents before the deadline.

“Our absolute immediate priority right now is ensuring that our designated candidates properly complete and return their Form EC9 nomination documents for upload ahead of the strict INEC deadline, rather than focusing on the public release of the list,” he said.

Despite the changes arising from the appeal process, several leading APC figures retained their tickets, including serving governors seeking election to the Senate in 2027.