Leading opposition parties have intensified spirited efforts to beat next Sunday’s deadline for the submission of the digital membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), investigations have shown.

Findings by the Nigerian Tribune indicate that the massive movement across political parties in the National Assembly on Tuesday was a signal by the political actors to beat the May 10th deadline already advertised by INEC.

Only the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) appears free of the ongoing mad rush to beat the deadline, as the party, which flagged off its online registration early in 2026, well ahead of the passage of the 2026 Electoral Act, which was passed into law in mid-February 2026.

The new Electoral Act mandates all political parties to submit a digital register to INEC ahead of the primaries, and the electoral body has set May 10 as the deadline.

Investigations revealed that party leaders in the embattled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the African Democratic Coalition (ADC) and the newly formed Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) are involved in the rush to beat the deadline set by INEC.

A leader of the PDP, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune, said that the decision to hold the emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Monday was part of the drive to beat INEC’s deadline, though the Board of Trustees (BoT), which constituted the NEC, was still awaiting the response of INEC to the announcement of an Interim National Committee. Sources said that the party leaders were hoping to put in place an executive before the Sunday deadline.

Though the faction of the party backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, had continued to insist on being the authentic leaders of the party, the Governor Seyi Makinde-backed faction, which has Senator Adolphus Wabara as the BoT chairman, is insisting that the ruling of the Supreme Court nullified both the Ibadan convention of 2025 and the Abuja convention of March 2026, paving the way for a BoT takeover of the party’s structures.

Even while there is no agreement yet on the way forward in the PDP, sources said that both camps are pushing to beat the deadline. For instance, some sources said that the Wike-backed executive has been selling nomination and expression of interest forms to interested members who would contest the 2027 primaries. It was gathered that the faction has been reaching out to party loyalists to pick the forms since its executive remains certified by INEC.

Sources, however, said that the decision of the Wabara-led BoT to constitute an Interim National Executive appeared to have thrown a spanner into the works of the Wike-backed structure, as some of those who were moving to purchase forms in the party are now reluctant to do so, while a number of others are already filing for either the APM or the NDC.

“We are worried that the party may end up not being able to field any candidates the way things are going, because aspirants are no longer sure of the authenticity of the leadership,” a source in the party said, adding that some state chapters who were already set to head to Abuja to purchase forms from the Wike-backed executive had to pull back when the BOT held its meeting and announced a new executive.

“For now, we are waiting for INEC to make its position known on the communication by the BoT on the leadership of the PDP. If the electoral body changes the leadership of the PDP, then we know who to follow; if not, defection to either APM or NDC will be the next option for some of the state chapters, and that must happen not later than Friday,” another source said.

On Monday, the interim executive put in place by Wabara-led BoT, also announced the timelines for the purchase of the forms, expression of interests, and the timelines for primaries.

While the combatants in the PDP are still at each other’s throats, sources confirmed that the NDC has been making overtures to members of the PDP and the ADC to come over, a situation that is already yielding results on the floors of the Senate and the House of Representatives, as the two chambers announced massive defections to the NDC, on Tuesday.

So far, only the APC has confirmed submitting its digital register required for the conduct of primaries by parties to determine their candidates for the elections.

A chieftain of the NDC, Buba Galadima, hinted that the party was set to submit its register on May 4 or 5, but the situation was misty in other parties, despite their frenzied preparations for the holding of party primaries.

Under the Electoral Act

In 2026, only two options are open to the parties in the choice of standard-bearers: a consensus arrangement or the conduct of primaries.

Going by the INEC timetable for the general election, the digital membership register of the parties must be submitted to the commission on or before May 10, a situation that is believed to have escalated the recent upswing in another round of alignments among major players in the opposition parties.

INEC had, on March 28, directed political parties to submit their registers at least 21 days before conducting their primaries for the 2027 elections.

According to INEC, the step was in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, coupled with the concerns raised by parties over the earlier timeline for submission of registers, which was initially scheduled between April 1 and April 2.

In a statement, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and

Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the parties were free to fix dates for their primaries within the approved window of April 23 to May 30, provided they complied with the 21-day notice required for the submission of their membership registers.

It warned that the register of party members must be submitted not later than 21days before the date of each party’s primaries.

The adjustment effectively extends the final deadline for submission of membership registers to May 10, 2026, replacing the earlier deadline of April 21.

For the Labour Party, the sale of nomination forms for primaries is from May 6 to 16; submission of completed forms: May 17 to May 18, screening of aspirants: House of Assembly and Governorship: May 20; National Assembly and Presidential: May 22 and publication of screening results: May 2026 and publication of screening results: May 23, while appeals/petitions: House of Assembly and Governorship: May 24; National Assembly and Presidential: May 25, and publication of final list of cleared aspirants: May 26.

The schedule for party primaries is: House of Assembly and Governorship – May 27, and National Assembly and Presidential on May 29.

Recall that the NDC had, on March 15, through its national leader, Seriake Dickson, senator representing Bayelsa West, unveiled its planned work on the digital membership register.

“This digital register is a modern, simplified, and user-friendly platform designed to enable Nigerians to register as members of the party, both within Nigeria and in the Diaspora,” he said.

“The platform provides two portals: one for membership registration for Nigerians residing in any part of the country and another dedicated to Nigerians living abroad. (Nigerian Tribune)

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