CONFUSION OVER STATUS OF PDP IN INEC PORTAL

July 16, 2026 • Dons Eze • 2 min read

There was confusion on Wednesday over claims that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not upload the names of its presidential and vice presidential candidates to the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 polls.

The electoral umpire had shut its portal for the exercise on July 14 after it granted political parties an extension from the initial July 11 deadline.

As the portal shut on Tuesday, there were claims the PDP was among three political parties that reportedly did not file the names of its candidates

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had earlier confirmed that it successfully uploaded the names of its candidates on July 10, one day before the initial July 11 deadline.

However, amid the fresh claims, the NWC provided proof of the confirmation of the uploading of the names by INEC.

The PDP had uploaded Senator Sandy Onor Ojang as its presidential candidate and Umar Babangida as its vice presidential candidate.

“Candidate Profile for Onor Sandy Ojang, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been submitted successfully,” the INEC proof noted.

According to the information, which was confirmed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Honourable Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, on Wednesday, the uploading was done at 11.50 am on July 10.

“For the record, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) successfully uploaded the names and particulars of its Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates to the INEC nomination portal at exactly 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, 10 July 2026, in full compliance with the Commission’s requirements and within the stipulated timeline,” Mohammed stated.

Dons Eze

DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.