The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has beaten the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) deadline, completing the electronic upload of its candidates for all elective positions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
National Chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda announced the feat on Sunday, hailing it as proof of the party’s organisational muscle and readiness for next year’s polls.
The announcement lands as political parties scramble to beat INEC’s submission window on its online portal.
The commission had originally set Saturday, August 8, 2026, as the cut-off, but pushed it back by three days to Tuesday, August 11, after several parties pleaded for more time.
Not the APC, though. Yilwatda said the party wrapped up its submissions – covering everything from State Houses of Assembly to the presidency – well before the original deadline expired, calling it proof the party has moved beyond mere sloganeering.
“The APC has once again demonstrated that we are prepared for the responsibility of governing Nigeria. We did not wait until the last minute,” he said in a statement issued through his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki.
“We planned ahead, coordinated our structures and ensured that our candidates were successfully uploaded before the expiration of the original deadline. This is what organisation, discipline and responsible political leadership mean.”
Behind the announcement lies a mammoth logistical exercise – thousands of candidates nominated, documented, verified and electronically submitted across all 36 states and the FCT.
Yilwatda described it as a true stress test of the party’s machinery, given its reach across senatorial districts, federal constituencies, local government areas and wards, all requiring tight coordination between the national secretariat, state chapters and election management teams.
He didn’t stop at celebrating the feat – Yilwatda used it to throw a jab at rival parties.
“Governance is not an experiment. The management of a country as complex as Nigeria requires planning, coordination, discipline, competence and the ability to deliver within deadlines,” he said.
“If a political organisation cannot effectively organise its own internal processes, coordinate its candidates and meet simple statutory and administrative deadlines, Nigerians must ask serious questions about its preparedness to manage the affairs of the nation.”
He urged voters not to be swayed by campaign promises alone, insisting internal discipline and rule compliance should count just as much when Nigerians head to the polls in 2027.
According to him, beating the deadline wasn’t just a paperwork win – it’s a signal of the party’s electoral readiness.
With the exercise out of the way, Yilwatda said the APC can now shift focus to the next phase – campaign coordination, candidate engagement, grassroots mobilisation and internal reconciliation.
“The work has only begun. Completing the upload ahead of schedule gives us confidence, but it also places a greater responsibility on us. We must remain united, disciplined and focused,” he said.
“We must take our message of Renewed Hope to every community and demonstrate to Nigerians that the APC is not only prepared to contest elections; we are prepared to continue providing responsible leadership for Nigeria.”
The 2027 contest is shaping up to be a fierce one, with opposition parties gunning to unseat the APC from Aso Rock and chip away at its dominance at the state level.
Candidate submission is just one of the earliest boxes to tick on the electoral calendar, and with the deadline now stretched to August 11, other parties still racing against time have a bit more breathing room.
Yilwatda praised the National Working Committee, state chapters, candidates and election teams who made the early submission possible, promising the party would keep strengthening its structures as it sells Nigerians a message built on “competence, continuity, stability and national development” ahead of 2027.
(The Whistler)