2027: APC Uploads 1,071 Governorship, Assembly Candidates to INEC Ahead of Deadline

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has completed the submission of its governorship, deputy governorship and State House of Assembly candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the commission’s August 11 deadline for the 2027 general elections.

The exercise covers 1,071 candidates, comprising 28 governorship candidates and their running mates, as well as 1,015 candidates seeking election into various State Houses of Assembly across the country.

The completion of the process followed INEC’s decision to extend the deadline for political parties to submit their nomination details from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11.

However, checks at the APC’s Information and Communication Technology department at the party’s national headquarters, Muhammadu Buhari House, Abuja, indicated that the ruling party had concluded the exercise before both the initial and extended deadlines.

A senior member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the development, describing it as evidence of the party’s organisational preparedness.

“We have successfully completed the upload and submitted all 56 APC governorship and deputy governorship candidates, as well as 1,015 APC State House of Assembly candidates, into the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal for the 2027 General Elections,” the source said.

According to the NWC member, the early completion demonstrated the party’s commitment to complying with INEC’s electoral timetable and ensuring that the nomination details of its candidates were properly submitted.

The source said the exercise covered the party’s candidates across various levels of the electoral contest, stressing that the NWC remained focused on meeting all statutory requirements and deadlines.

Among the APC governorship candidates listed as having been uploaded to the INEC portal are Obafemi Hamzat of Lagos, Uba Sani of Kaduna, Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Bassey Otu of Cross River and Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta.

Others are Hyacinth Alia of Benue, Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang of Plateau, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola of Ogun and Agbu Kefas of Taraba.

The 2027 governorship elections are scheduled to hold in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states. The remaining eight states—Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun—operate on off-cycle election schedules due to previous judicial decisions that affected the tenure of their governors.

With the submission of its sub-national candidates completed, the APC is expected to intensify preparations for the 2027 elections, including campaign planning and other activities in accordance with the electoral timetable.