Amid concerns over the capacity of political parties to upload candidates’ lists to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday assured that it has sufficient manpower to submit the names of its governorship and State House of Assembly candidates within the stipulated timeframe.
At least 31 states will participate in the 2027 governorship elections, excluding Ondo, Ekiti, Anambra, Imo and Osun, while all 36 State Houses of Assembly will hold legislative elections.
The development places a huge responsibility on each political party to upload the names of at least 31 governorship candidates and their running mates, bringing the total to 62, as well as about 990 State House of Assembly candidates nationwide.
Findings showed that concerns had been raised over the ability of some political parties to complete the uploads within the 22-day window provided by INEC, from July 18 to August 8, 2026.
However, the PDP, which disclosed on Sunday that it had already begun the process, told the Nigerian Tribune that it has the capacity to complete the uploads within the deadline.
“As a matter of fact, we have our access codes and we have already started uploading these names. We have strategically positioned sufficient manpower to upload the details of our State House of Assembly and governorship candidates.
“We will do this seamlessly and upload them successfully within the timeframe allocated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Honourable Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, said in an exclusive interview on Sunday.
He said the party planned to complete the exercise on schedule, just as it did with the presidential and National Assembly candidates, whose uploads were concluded on July 10, ahead of INEC’s extended deadline of July 14.
He added: “We have the codes and we started on the stipulated date.
“The PDP has no worries.
“The judgment of the Abuja Federal High Court (FHC) on Friday has further solidified our position as the genuine leaders of the PDP.”
Investigations showed that while the Mohammed-led NWC, chaired by Honourable Abdulrahman Mohammed and backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, expressed confidence over the upload process, the situation was different in the camp of the Interim National Working Committee (INWC) led by Dr Tanimu Turaki.
The fate of candidates who purchased the PDP’s nomination forms and emerged victorious in the Turaki-led faction’s primaries is said to hang in the balance due to INEC’s refusal to recognise the faction.
The Turaki-led PDP said it screened 993 State House of Assembly candidates for the 2027 elections, alongside 28 governorship candidates, 109 senatorial candidates and 360 House of Representatives candidates.
The faction has been relying on the courts for a declaration compelling INEC to recognise it as the authentic leadership of the PDP, but that hope has continued to fade.
On Friday, an Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim struck out a suit filed by the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT), which sought to compel INEC to recognise the Turaki-led INWC.
Although the INWC accepted the court’s judgment, it insisted that it would appeal the decision.
“While we respect the judgment of the trial court, we respectfully consider that it is against the extant judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, leaving the plaintiffs with no option but to appeal the judgment and the rulings therein.
“The plaintiffs have accordingly briefed their lawyers to take immediate steps to appeal the rulings and judgment,” the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, stated.
A party official told the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja that the faction would continue the legal battle up to the Supreme Court.
“At this stage, nobody will give up. It doesn’t matter if the people who trusted us and stayed with us for the elections eventually lose out; it is okay.
“History will record that we fought all the enemies of true democracy to the very end but lost out,” the official said on condition of anonymity.Asked about the fate of the candidates produced by the rival faction and whether there was any possibility of accommodating them, Mohammed replied: “How?”
He said: “That can be likened to the famous MMM business. Those who bought forms and those who collected the money should go and sort themselves out.
“For us, we are focused and doing our bit as directed by INEC.”
Checks within the Labour Party (LP), led by Senator Nenadi Usman, also indicated that the party had prepared for the upload process, just as it did for the presidential and National Assembly candidates.
“We are not anxious over any issue here. It is only when a political party does not have access codes that there is cause for concern.
“The Labour Party has its access codes, and the upload will be done in line with INEC’s guidelines,” a party source said on Sunday.
Investigations further showed that the LP cleared about 1,211 candidates to contest various offices in the 2027 elections, comprising 99 senatorial candidates (out of 109 seats), 307 House of Representatives candidates (out of 360 seats), and 776 State House of Assembly candidates (out of 993 seats).