By CHARLES IWUOHA

The race toward Nigeria’s 2027 general elections has entered a more turbulent phase following the opening of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal for the submission of candidates, exposing deep divisions and intensifying power struggles within the country’s major political parties.

With political parties now required to upload the names of their candidates before the commission’s deadline, leadership disputes, rival claims to party structures and protests over primary elections have assumed a new dimension, particularly within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

At the centre of the controversy is the PDP, where rival leadership factions are battling for legitimacy and control of the party’s nomination process.

The faction recognised by INEC and led by National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, with the backing of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has confirmed receiving the commission’s access code and has commenced uploading candidates for the 2027 elections.

PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, said the recognised leadership had obtained all the necessary documentation from INEC and was on course to complete the upload before the stipulated deadline.

He maintained that the party remained united under the recognised leadership and expressed confidence that all nominated candidates would be successfully submitted.

However, the rival Interim National Working Committee headed by Tanimu Turaki (SAN) insisted that although it had not received the access code, the ongoing legal battle over the party’s leadership would ultimately determine which faction has the authority to submit candidates.

The faction accused INEC of failing to demonstrate neutrality and alleged that the commission’s actions had further complicated the internal crisis within the opposition party.

INEC, however, dismissed claims of recognising multiple factions, insisting that it would only deal with the leadership affirmed by the courts.

National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna said political parties had been collecting access codes since June 26 and stressed that the electoral body remained bound by judicial pronouncements in all dealings with political parties.

Beyond the PDP, disagreements over candidate nominations have also unsettled the APC in several states.

In Ondo State, hundreds of women members of the ruling party staged a protest in Akure, rejecting what they described as an altered list of House of Representatives candidates released after the party’s primary elections.

The protesters insisted that the published names did not reflect the outcome of the direct primaries conducted across the state’s wards and called on the national leadership of the party to respect the wishes of members.

The demonstration disrupted traffic in parts of Akure as party supporters demanded that candidates who genuinely emerged from the primaries should be recognised.

The APC in Lagos State also moved to calm concerns over speculation that its legislative candidates’ list had been altered, insisting that the list published after the primaries remained valid unless amended by the party’s national leadership following the appeals process.

Across several states, political parties have commenced uploading candidates while attempting to resolve disputes arising from their primaries.

State chapters of both the APC and PDP in Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara and Plateau confirmed that they had received INEC’s access codes and had either completed or commenced the submission of candidates’ details.

In Benue State, however, disagreements over the distribution of nomination forms highlighted continuing political rivalry between camps loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and those aligned with Governor Hyacinth Alia.

Political analysts say the commencement of candidate uploads has shifted the contest from party primaries to a struggle for institutional recognition, with control of party structures now determining who eventually appears on the ballot.

They note that unless the disputes are resolved quickly, the courts may once again play a decisive role in determining the final list of candidates for the 2027 elections.

As the submission deadline draws nearer, the nomination process is expected to generate more legal battles and political realignments, underscoring the high stakes already shaping the contest for power in 2027.

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