By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has announced the successful upload of all 471 candidates of the party for the 2027 general elections, saying the party’s attention now shifts to mobilisation and preparations for a decisive victory at the polls.
Yilwatda disclosed this in a tweet on Sunday, in which he congratulated the party’s candidates, leaders and members on the milestone achieved on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s INEC Candidate Nomination Portal ICNP.
“I congratulate our candidates, leaders, and members of APC on the successful 100% upload of our Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal ICNP.
“With this milestone achieved, our focus now shifts to mobilization and preparations for a successful campaign and decisive victory at the polls”, he declared.
The APC’s completion of its upload came on the heels of INEC’s extension of the deadline for submission of candidates’ lists for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly Elections by political parties, moving the cut-off from Saturday, July 11, 2026, to midnight on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, for parties still unable to meet the earlier timeline.
In a statement issued by the National Commissioner and Chair, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, on Sunday, the Commission said the deadline in the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election had been extended following an appeal by the Inter-Party Advisory Council IPAC on behalf of political parties who were unable to upload the names and personal particulars of their candidates within the scheduled timeline.
INEC said the extension underscored its commitment to ensuring inclusivity in its practices, while acting within the ambit of the law, and enjoined political parties to take advantage of the window of opportunity and ensure that all necessary details are uploaded before the expiration of the new deadline.
The APC, however, had already beaten the original deadline, submitting the presidential nomination forms of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima ahead of the initial deadline.
The submission of both forms effectively ended months of speculation about the president’s choice of running mate, as he had settled for Shettima, and paved the way for the upload of their details onto the INEC portal, an action concluded on Friday night.
Yilwatda had received the duly completed forms at a ceremony on Friday in Abuja, where he declared that the party was not threatened by opposition propaganda ahead of the 2027 general election, saying President Tinubu was going into the race with a bloc of over 12 million votes from party members.
The nomination forms were presented on behalf of President Tinubu by his Special Adviser on Political and Other Matters, Hon. Ibrahim Masari.
The event was attended by APC governors led by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, some governors, deputy governors, members of the National Working Committee, the APC Caucus in the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council, senate and governorship candidates, and other party leaders and stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Yilwatda had said the occasion climaxed a process that began with primary elections across all levels of government, from the House of Assembly to the National Assembly to governorship and the presidential primary.
