The All Progressives Congress has said the failure of opposition political parties to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission deadline for the submission of candidates for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections reflects what it described as their lack of preparedness for the polls.

In a statement issued via its X handle on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the ruling party said it successfully met the electoral commission’s July 11 deadline for uploading the names of its candidates despite having a larger number of contestants across elective positions.

“The All Progressives Congress is pleased to announce that it successfully met the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) deadline for the submission of names of its candidates for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“Our great Party satisfied this requirement despite the large number of Party candidates contesting on the Party’s platform for the various elective offices,” the statement read.

The APC noted that INEC subsequently extended the deadline to July 14 after opposition parties requested more time to complete the submission of their candidates.

According to the ruling party, while the electoral commission acted within its statutory powers in granting the extension, the development highlighted the opposition’s inability to effectively manage its internal processes.

“While INEC acted within its statutory powers and administrative discretion in extending the deadline for opposition parties to upload names of their candidates, it is noteworthy that the extension was necessitated by the stark failure of opposition parties to manage their internal processes to comply with INEC’s submission deadline despite having fewer candidates to manage compared to the APC,” it said.

The APC argued that the situation raised concerns about the operational capacity of opposition parties.

“This development provides yet another clear indication of the opposition’s chronic inherent weakness and raises legitimate questions about their operational capacity. Political parties that cannot efficiently conclude their own internal nomination processes cannot possibly be trusted by Nigerians to possess the competence, discipline, or readiness to govern our great nation or its subnational governments,” the statement stated.

It also accused opposition parties of contradicting their previous allegations against INEC.

“It is starkly ironical that the same opposition parties have repeatedly peddled false, malicious and unfounded tales that the APC controls and dictates INEC’s decisions. Yet, as they failed to meet the submission deadline, they shamelessly turned to the same INEC for respite, and were granted an extension.

“And the same APC that would have been the obvious beneficiary if INEC had stood firm on its original deadline, kept its distance, having met the deadline and completed its submission. Again, this underscores the oppositions’ hypocrisy, and true character as peddlers of fake news and merchants of blackmail,” the party said.

The APC said the successful upload of the particulars of the party’s presidential, vice-presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates demonstrated the APC’s organisational strength and commitment to due process.

“With the successful upload of particulars of all its Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal, APC has, again, demonstrated its leadership and superior organisational capacity, discipline, and solid commitment to due process,” the party said.

The APC urged party members and supporters to intensify mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“As we conclude this important phase of the electoral process, we call on all Party leaders, stakeholders, members, and supporters to turn their full attention to the task ahead.

“We must remain focused and continue to strengthen our structures at all levels, increase awareness of the massive achievements under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, deepen grassroots mobilisation, and prepare for a vigorous, issue-based campaign that will earn our great Party a renewed mandate in the 2027 general elections,” it added. (The PUNCH)

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