Political parties are racing to beat INEC’s July 11 deadline for submitting presidential nomination forms, with most major candidates already uploaded, except the ruling APC and PDP, both still finalising their tickets.
INEC set 6pm on July 11 as the cutoff for presidential and National Assembly forms, an exercise that began June 27 covering Forms EC9 and EC9A to EC9E. Governorship and state assembly submissions run separately, from July 18 to August 8. Presidential and National Assembly candidate details will be published August 1, with governorship and state assembly details following August 29.
Two opposition candidates have settled their tickets. Atiku Abubakar of the ADC named former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as running mate, while Peter Obi of the NDC picked former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Both parties confirmed their tickets have already been uploaded to the INEC portal.
President Bola Tinubu, the APC’s candidate, remains the outstanding name. Speculation continues to point toward Vice President Kashim Shettima retaining his spot, though nothing has been formally announced, following reports last year of strain in the Tinubu-Shettima relationship, including a chaotic APC North-East meeting in Gombe where Shettima supporters allegedly clashed with a party official at a gathering that notably made no mention of the Vice President.
Tinubu secured the APC’s 2027 ticket in a landslide at the May 23 primaries, defeating sole challenger Stanley Osifo with nearly 11 million votes. The APC says the running mate decision rests entirely with the President. Along with PDP candidate Sandy Onor, Tinubu is one of only two major presidential candidates yet to name a running mate.
Party sources say the APC may resort to a placeholder strategy, submitting Tinubu’s name alongside a temporary vice-presidential nominee who can be swapped out before INEC’s August 22 substitution window. This has precedent: ahead of 2023, Tinubu submitted Ibrahim Masari as a placeholder before Masari withdrew and Shettima was formally nominated. Masari later joined the presidency as a political adviser.
Beyond the presidential ticket, the APC says its broader upload is progressing well. A source said senatorial forms for Governors AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe and Hope Uzodimma of Imo have been submitted, along with many House of Representatives candidates and nearly all the party’s principal National Assembly officers. “We have covered a lot of ground,” the source said, adding that leaders are working round the clock to meet the deadline.
Another source described the exercise as hitch-free so far, with the President and his running mate expected to be the last entry uploaded, but still within the deadline. “The APC is a focused party that is doing everything to play by the book,” the source said.
The PDP says it has completed about 60 percent of its National Assembly candidate uploads. National Organising Secretary Umar Bature said roughly 169 of the party’s 460 combined senatorial and House of Representatives candidates remain pending, largely due to late document submissions, but expects the process to wrap up by Wednesday. “The process is progressing smoothly, with uploads being carried out daily as documents are received,” he said.
