INEC Portal Opens, Party Factions Battle For Control Of 2027 Lists
A fresh round of power struggles has broken out inside Nigeria’s major political parties as the Independent National Electoral Commission’s nomination portal opened for the 2027 general elections, with rival factions and state chapters fighting over who controls candidate uploads before the submission deadline.
The flashpoint is the Peoples Democratic Party. The faction backed by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has begun uploading its candidates after receiving INEC’s access code, while the rival camp led by Tanimu Turaki (SAN) says it is still waiting. PDP National Organising Secretary Umar Bature confirmed on Monday that the party had received all the necessary documents from the commission.
“I can confirm that the Peoples Democratic Party, under Abdulrahman Mohammed and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, has received INEC’s access code. We have commenced uploading candidates’ details,” Bature said, adding that the exercise would be completed before the July 11 deadline.
The crisis traces back to a Supreme Court ruling. In a split 3 to 2 judgment on April 30, the court invalidated the PDP National Convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2025, which produced the Turaki leadership backed by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde. The party’s Board of Trustees, led by Adolphus Wabara, then reconstituted Turaki and others as an Interim National Working Committee, which has since operated alongside the INEC recognised, Wike aligned faction.
A source in the Turaki camp said it had not received the code but remained hopeful. “It is not about who gets it first, but the final judgment. INEC will comply with the court decision,” the source said. The faction’s spokesman, Ini Ememobong, accused the commission under its new chairman of bias, saying “history will record Amupitan as the most contentious INEC chairman before an election.”
INEC has held its ground. National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna told The PUNCH that parties had been collecting codes since June 26. “I don’t know about any faction in the PDP. It is the one the court said we should recognise that we recognise,” he said.
The disputes go beyond the PDP. Under the commission’s revised timetable, the submission window for presidential and National Assembly candidates opened on June 27 and closes on July 11, 2026, while governorship and state assembly uploads run from July 18 to August 8. The exercise is anchored on Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, which requires nominations to be filed at least 120 days before the polls.
The context matters. Professor Joash Amupitan, sworn in on October 23, 2025, succeeded Mahmood Yakubu, who ran INEC from 2015 to 2025. Yakubu’s decade in office delivered technical upgrades but struggled against falling turnout and deepening public scepticism. Amupitan inherits a commission already stretched by off cycle elections and a wave of party litigation.
In the ruling APC, friction is also visible. Hundreds of women protested in Akure on Monday, alleging that Ondo’s published House of Representatives list did not reflect primary results. In Lagos, the party insists its legislative list, published on May 25, 2026, stands, even as the PDP there remains split between rival governorship claimants.
With the clock ticking toward July 11, the parties’ internal wars now hinge on pending court decisions. INEC has signalled it will upload only court recognised candidates, meaning the judiciary, once again, may decide who appears on the 2027 ballot.