FRONTLINE REPORTERS
With only days left before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) closes the submission of presidential nomination forms, political parties are intensifying efforts to beat the July 11 deadline amid heightened interest over the choice of running mates by leading contenders.
INEC fixed 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to upload the nomination forms of their presidential and National Assembly candidates through its online nomination portal. The exercise, which began on June 27, covers the submission of Forms EC9 and EC9A to EC9E in accordance with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The electoral umpire has also scheduled the submission of nomination forms for governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates from July 18 to August 8, while the personal particulars of presidential and National Assembly candidates will be published on August 1. Those of governorship and state assembly candidates will be displayed on August 29.
Ahead of the deadline, the presidential candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) have already unveiled their running mates. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar picked former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, while Peter Obi named former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his vice-presidential candidate.
However, President Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is yet to formally announce his running mate, although party insiders say Vice President Kashim Shettima remains the overwhelming favourite to retain the position.
A formal announcement in Shettima’s favour would put to rest months of speculation over the APC ticket after persistent reports suggested that some interests within the party had canvassed his replacement. Last year, Frontline Reporters exclusively reported growing strains within the Tinubu-Shettima political alliance following moves by some party stakeholders to drop the Vice President from the 2027 ticket.
The speculation intensified after an APC North-East stakeholders’ meeting in Gombe ended in chaos when supporters of the Vice President allegedly attacked the party’s then North-East Zonal Vice Chairman, Mustapha Salihu. The meeting, convened to endorse Tinubu’s second-term bid, conspicuously omitted any reference to Shettima.
Tinubu secured the APC presidential ticket during the party’s nationwide primaries held on May 23, 2026, defeating his only challenger, Stanley Osifo, by a wide margin. He received the party’s Certificate of Return and flag the following day at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, but has yet to publicly unveil his running mate.
The APC has maintained that the decision rests solely with the President. Apart from Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Sandy Onor, is the only major contender yet to announce a running mate.
Meanwhile, highly placed APC sources told Frontline Reporters that the party has made significant progress in uploading the names of its National Assembly candidates to INEC’s portal. According to the sources, the nomination forms of several serving lawmakers, including Governors AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State and Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, who are contesting Senate seats, have already been submitted.
The sources disclosed that party officials are working round the clock to ensure all nominations are uploaded before the July 11 deadline.
“We have covered a lot of ground. The uploading of candidates is going according to plan. So far, we have uploaded quite a number of House of Representatives candidates, nearly all the party’s principal officers in the 10th National Assembly and several prominent serving lawmakers,” one source said.
The source added that the senatorial nominations of Governors AbdulRazaq, Uzodimma and Buni, among others, had already been successfully uploaded to the commission’s portal.
Another senior party official described the exercise as smooth and hitch-free, expressing confidence that the APC would complete the submission of President Tinubu’s nomination and that of his running mate before the deadline.
“The exercise has been seamless from the outset. We are hopeful that before July 11, we will upload the President’s nomination and that of his running mate. That is likely to be the final submission,” the source said.
The source added that the APC remained committed to complying fully with the electoral timetable. “The APC is a focused party. We are determined to play by the rules, comply with the INEC timetable and ensure all our candidates are duly nominated.”
Although political parties are expected to submit the names of both presidential candidates and their running mates by July 11, INEC’s timetable allows for the withdrawal and substitution of presidential and National Assembly candidates until August 22.
The provision has fuelled speculation that the APC could adopt the same strategy it deployed before the 2023 election by submitting a placeholder vice-presidential nominee pending the announcement of its substantive candidate.
Ahead of the 2023 poll, Tinubu initially submitted the name of Ibrahim Masari as a placeholder vice-presidential candidate to meet INEC’s nomination deadline while consultations continued. Masari later withdrew, paving the way for Shettima’s emergence as the APC’s substantive vice-presidential candidate.
The coming days are therefore expected to be decisive, as political parties move to beat INEC’s deadline while attention remains focused on President Tinubu’s final decision on his running mate and the completion of the nomination process by all major contenders.
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