***Codes ready, released Friday, upload deadline remains July 11 — INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and several political parties have disagreed over the issuance of access codes required for uploading candidates’ nomination details onto the commission’s online portal ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While most political parties insist they are yet to receive the access codes, INEC maintains that the codes have already been released following a training exercise for party representatives, stressing that the deadline for candidate submissions remains July 11, 2026.
The disagreement comes as rival factions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) seek recognition from the electoral commission to upload their respective candidates.
INEC Insists Codes Have Been Released
INEC said it had commenced training for political party representatives on the use of its online nomination portal to facilitate the submission of candidates’ particulars for the 2027 elections.
Under the commission’s election timetable, political parties have until July 11, 2026, to upload the names and credentials of their presidential and National Assembly candidates.
A senior INEC official said it was too early to assess the level of compliance by political parties, noting that the commission was working closely with them throughout the process.
“We are interfacing with them. They have until July 11 to complete their uploads. It is too early to talk about compliance or otherwise,” the official said.
According to the source, ICT personnel of political parties underwent training on Thursday and Friday to familiarise themselves with the nomination portal.
“If they have challenges, our personnel are on standby to assist. The process is straightforward,” the official added.
INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, also dismissed claims that political parties had not been issued access codes.
“Any party claiming they do not have the access codes should first say whether they attended the training held on Thursday and Friday. The training continues, and if by Monday they have still not received the codes, they can then make such claims,” she said.
According to INEC’s revised timetable, the online submission portal for Forms EC9 and EC9A-E, covering presidential and National Assembly candidates, opened on June 27 and will close at 6 p.m. on July 11, 2026.
For governorship and State House of Assembly candidates, the portal will open on July 18 and close on August 8.
INEC noted that access codes became available for collection from its headquarters on June 26, in line with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires political parties to submit candidates’ nominations not later than 120 days before the election.
Parties Say Codes Yet to Be Received
Contrary to INEC’s position, several political parties said they were still awaiting the access codes needed to upload their candidates.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) both confirmed they had not received the codes.
ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, and PRP National Chairman, Mohammed Ishaq, said INEC had assured parties that the codes would be issued once they were ready.
The Labour Party (LP) also said it had yet to receive the access code.
Although the party’s spokesman, Ken Asogwa, could not be reached, a senior party official said no political party had received the code as of Saturday.
“We were informed that the codes may be ready by Monday. INEC has already released the nomination forms, which our candidates are completing. We will upload the documents immediately the access code becomes available,” the source said.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) also claimed it had requested the code from INEC without success.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the request remained pending while the party pursued legal action following a Federal High Court judgment in Lokoja directing INEC not to recognise the NDC pending the resolution of disputes surrounding its registration.
Despite the ruling, NDC National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Zuwoghe, expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would overturn the decision.
“We still have faith in the judiciary. The Federal High Court is not the final court. We will pursue the matter through the appellate process and remain confident that justice will prevail,” he said.
Zuwoghe added that the party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, his running mate and other candidates would remain on course for the 2027 elections.
NNPP Commends INEC
The National Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dipo Olayoku, said INEC had already begun issuing access codes for the Osun State governorship election, although he was uncertain whether the same process had commenced for the 2027 general elections.
He, however, commended the commission for managing what he described as an enormous workload.
“The Electoral Act has significantly increased INEC’s responsibilities. In addition to conducting recent off-cycle elections and by-elections, the commission is also dealing with numerous court cases arising from disputes within political parties,” he said.
BOOT Party Confirms Receipt
In contrast to other parties, the Because Of Our Tomorrow (BOOT) Party confirmed that it had received notification from INEC regarding its access code.
National Chairman of the party, Sunny Adenuga, said the party would collect the code early this week.
Rival Party Factions Seek Recognition
The disagreement over access codes comes amid internal leadership disputes in some opposition parties, particularly the PDP and ADC, with rival factions seeking INEC’s recognition to upload candidates on behalf of their respective parties.
The development has heightened concerns over compliance with the electoral timetable as political parties race to meet the July 11 deadline for submitting the particulars of their presidential and National Assembly candidates.
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