Uncertainty continues to trail preparations for the 2027 general elections as major political parties across Nigeria are yet to formally unveil their final lists of candidates, weeks after concluding their primary elections.
The delay has left thousands of aspirants in suspense and sparked fresh debates over transparency, internal democracy, and post-primary crisis management within political parties.
The development affects key parties including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), all of which have completed various stages of their nomination processes but are yet to make final confirmations public.
This situation persists even as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to open its Candidate Nomination Portal and issue access codes to parties beginning June 26, 2026, in line with the electoral timetable.
Across the country, many governorship, National Assembly, and State Assembly aspirants remain in a state of uncertainty, with no official publication confirming their candidacy status.
Within political circles, there are growing claims that the delay may be linked to ongoing internal reviews and appeal processes, while others argue that parties are deliberately slowing down publication to avoid legal challenges from dissatisfied aspirants.
Tensions within the ruling APC have become more visible in recent weeks, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio openly appealing for caution in handling the release of final lists.
According to him, the situation is already creating anxiety among party members.
“The party is supreme. I’m only pleading with the party to ensure that when they release their final list, they include all of us. Some of my people have hypertension,” Akpabio said.
Responding to enquiries, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka said the party’s official list would be released in due course, though he did not give a specific date.
Party insiders, however, confirmed that appeal committees set up after the primaries are still reviewing complaints lodged by aggrieved aspirants, a process that has slowed down final publication.
One senior APC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leadership is treading carefully to avoid further division within the party.
“As we speak, the appeal panels are still sitting. Releasing the list now could trigger more internal conflict,” the source said.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) defended its position, saying it is not legally bound to publicly announce all candidate outcomes.
According to its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, all contestants have already been privately informed of the results, while INEC has been duly updated.
He added that the June 26 INEC deadline is strictly for submission and authentication of nominations, not necessarily public disclosure.
In the PDP faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the party said it is waiting for formal ratification by its National Executive Committee before releasing its final list.
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National Publicity Secretary Haruna Jungudo explained that all primaries and appeals had been concluded under INEC monitoring.
“We are awaiting NEC approval before uploading the final nominations to INEC,” he said.
Similarly, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said its primaries had been completed and monitored by INEC, stressing that it remains on schedule with the electoral timetable.
The Labour Party, on its part, disclosed that it has approved 1,211 candidates across various elective positions and will begin uploading names to INEC’s portal on June 28.
Party spokesperson Ken Asogwa confirmed that the National Executive Committee had already ratified the list.
As INEC deadlines draw closer, the absence of publicly released candidate lists continues to deepen anxiety among aspirants and intensify scrutiny of how political parties manage internal democracy ahead of the 2027 elections.