INEC candidate submission came under the spotlight after the electoral commission rejected claims by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that it manually submitted its list of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dismissed the claim made by the Kabiru Turaki-led PDP faction, which said it had submitted a list of candidates, including former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate. According to the commission, political parties must submit candidates through its designated electronic portal, making manual submission inconsistent with the approved process.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday, INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Ita-Messi, said she could not confirm whether the faction had submitted any list to the commission. However, she stressed that established procedures require political parties to upload candidates through INEC’s electronic platform.
She said, “I am not in a position to confirm that to you, but can only tell you that there are procedures for submitting the names of political parties’ candidates to the INEC portal.” She also questioned the faction’s position, asking, “If the faction claimed that they were denied access to the code, how did they submit the list of their candidates to the commission?”
INEC’s response followed a press conference held by the Turaki-led faction on Thursday in Abuja, where it announced that it had submitted its candidates for the 2027 elections. The faction claimed the list included Goodluck Jonathan for president alongside governorship and National Assembly candidates.
The faction alleged that INEC refused to provide the access codes needed to use the electronic portal and said it therefore submitted the list manually. Its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, maintained that the action complied with the Electoral Act 2026. He also accused INEC of taking sides in the PDP leadership crisis, alleging that the commission had failed to remain neutral and had ignored relevant facts and court decisions relating to the party’s internal dispute.
The INEC candidate submission dispute adds another chapter to the PDP’s leadership crisis as the commission insists that all political parties must follow the prescribed electronic process for nominating candidates.
Do you think INEC should allow manual submissions under exceptional circumstances, or should the electronic process remain mandatory?
