The battle for Nigeria’s 2027 governorship elections has officially begun, with the Peoples Democratic Party and the ruling All Progressives Congress kicking off the upload of their candidates’ names on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s portal.
PDP Leads the Charge
Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH, PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, confirmed that the opposition party fired the first shot on Saturday, commencing the upload process without a hitch.
“The exercise has been progressing smoothly without any technical issues, and we are confident that the upload process will be completed well ahead of the deadline,” Bature stated.
APC Plays Catch-Up
Not to be outdone, the ruling party has also swung into action, with priority given to the 16 incumbent governors seeking re-election.
A senior APC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the party has established a special committee headed by Jibrin Bancir to coordinate the smooth transmission of documents.
“We commenced the upload process yesterday (Saturday), with priority given to the 16 governors seeking re-election,” the source disclosed.
The Incumbent 16
The APC’s re-election hopefuls include:
· Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom)
· Hyacinth Alia (Benue)
· Uba Sani (Kaduna)
· Abba Yusuf (Kano)
· Dikko Radda (Katsina)
· Nasir Idris (Kebbi)
· Umaru Bago (Niger)
· Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau)
· Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto)
· Agbu Kefas (Taraba)
· Dauda Lawal (Zamfara)
. Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta)
Fresh Faces in the Race
The APC governorship list also features 12 first-time flagbearers, including:
· Obafemi Hamzat (Lagos)
· Solomon Adeola (Ogun)
· Kingsley Chinda (Rivers)
· Eric Opah (Abia)
· Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi)
· Mustapha Gubio (Borno)
· Jamilu Gwamna (Gombe)
· Ahmed Wadada (Nasarawa)
· Baba Malam Wali (Yobe)
The Clock is Ticking
According to INEC’s timetable, political parties have until August 8, 2026 to complete the upload of governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates.
Key deadlines to watch:
· August 22, 2026: Deadline for withdrawal/substitution of presidential and National Assembly candidates
· August 29, 2026: Publication of governorship/State Assembly candidates’ personal particulars
· September 19, 2026: Deadline for withdrawal/substitution of governorship/State Assembly candidates
What’s at Stake
A total of 28 governorship candidates and 993 state Houses of Assembly candidates are expected to be uploaded nationwide.
However, governorship elections will not hold in eight states due to off-cycle election schedules: Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo, and Osun.
The APC source added: “Only candidates who passed the appeal committee’s review and received the approval of the NWC were uploaded to the INEC portal. We are confident that the exercise will be completed before the deadline.”
With the clock ticking and political tensions rising, all eyes are now on INEC’s portal as Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 general elections.
