Running Mates Named Ahead Of 2027 Presidential Nomination Deadline
Nigerian political parties are working against the clock as the July 11, 2026 deadline for submission of presidential nomination forms to the Independent National Electoral Commission draws near, with several major players still finalising key details of their tickets.
The commission fixed 6pm on July 11 as the closing time for parties to submit the nomination forms of their presidential and National Assembly candidates through its online nomination portal. The exercise, which commenced on June 27, covers the submission of Forms EC9 and EC9A to EC9E in line with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.
INEC has also scheduled the submission of nomination forms for governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates to begin at 9:00 a.m. on July 18 and close at 6:00 p.m. on August 8, 2026. Under the same timetable, the personal particulars of presidential and National Assembly candidates will be published on August 1, while those of governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates will be published on August 29.
Ahead of the polls, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, unveiled former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. Similarly, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, announced a former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as his running mate.
President Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, is yet to formally name his running mate, though there are speculations that he has settled for Vice President Kashim Shettima. Should Tinubu eventually name Shettima as his running mate, the development would settle political speculation over the APC’s presidential ticket and reaffirm the party’s decision to retain its 2023 ticket for the 2027 election.
There have previously been indications that Tinubu and Shettima’s political alliance was under strain, amid reports that moves were being considered to drop the Vice President as Tinubu’s running mate for the 2027 election. A meeting of APC North-East stakeholders in Gombe State had ended in chaos, as supporters of the Vice President allegedly attacked the then party’s Zonal Vice Chairman, Mustapha Salihu. That meeting, held at the International Conference Centre in Gombe, was initially convened to reaffirm support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition, but conspicuously made no reference to Shettima.
Tinubu secured the APC presidential ticket for the 2027 election following nationwide primaries held on Saturday, May 23, 2026, and officially received his Certificate of Return and the party’s flag the following day, Sunday, May 24, 2026, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. He won the ticket by a landslide, securing nearly 11 million votes to defeat his sole challenger, Stanley Osifo. He has, however, yet to announce his running mate, as his choice continues to be closely watched. The APC has maintained that the decision rests with the President.
Of the major presidential candidates, only Tinubu and Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party are yet to announce their respective running mates.
Highly placed party sources disclosed that the APC had submitted the Senate nomination forms of Governors AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe) and Hope Uzodimma (Imo) to INEC’s portal.
While details of all presidential candidates and their running mates are expected to be submitted to INEC on or before July 11, the commission’s timetable also provides August 22 for the withdrawal and replacement of presidential and National Assembly candidates. Candidates for governorship and state Houses of Assembly have until September 19 for withdrawal and substitution.
This has raised the possibility that the APC may submit Tinubu’s name and forms alongside a placeholder running mate, who can later be replaced with the substantive nominee before the August 22 deadline. Ahead of the 2023 election, precisely in June 2022, Tinubu, after winning the party’s ticket, had submitted the name of Ibrahim Masari as his “placeholder” vice-presidential candidate to INEC. This tactical strategy allowed the APC to meet strict nomination deadlines while Tinubu continued consultations to select a substantive running mate.
Masari formally stepped down as the vice-presidential nominee in July 2022, paving the way for Tinubu to name Shettima as his substantive running mate in a strategic decision aimed at bolstering the party’s support in the northern regions. Following Tinubu’s victory, Masari transitioned into the presidency as a close political ally, with the President appointing him as his Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters in 2023 and subsequently promoting him to Special Adviser on Political Affairs.
An APC source said the party’s leaders and stakeholders were working round the clock to ensure all its candidates’ nomination forms were uploaded before the commission’s deadline. “We have covered a lot of ground. The uploading of the candidate list is going as planned. All party leaders and stakeholders saddled with this responsibility are doing their work round the clock. So far, we have been able to upload quite a number of House of Representatives candidates,” he stated.
“The nomination details of nearly all the party’s principal officers in the 10th National Assembly, along with those of prominent serving lawmakers, have been uploaded. We have also uploaded the list of senatorial candidates to the INEC portal. We have uploaded that of the governor of Kwara State. We have uploaded that of the governor of Imo State, and that of the governor of Yobe State has also been uploaded, along with other senatorial candidates.”
Another highly placed source confirmed that the exercise has progressed smoothly without any setbacks, describing the entire process as orderly, seamless, transparent and completely hitch-free from the outset. “So, the exercise has been hitch-free, and we are hopeful that before the deadline, which is July 11th, we will be able to upload that of the President and his running mate. That is perhaps going to be the last to be uploaded.
But we are going to complete this exercise before the 11th of this month. The APC is a focused party that is doing everything to play by the book, ensure that we comply with the INEC timetable, ensure that our members are duly captured, and give the best to Nigerians,” he stated.
Elsewhere, the ADC and NDC have already sorted out their submissions. The NDC national leader, Seriake Dickson, announced that Obi’s name and his running mate, Kwankwaso, had been uploaded on the INEC portal, while the spokesman for the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, confirmed that Atiku and Amaechi’s names had been uploaded on the electoral commission’s portal.
In a related development, the PDP says it has uploaded about 60 per cent of its National Assembly candidates on the INEC portal, with efforts ongoing to complete the process. PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, said out of 100 senatorial and 360 House of Representatives candidates, about 169 entries are still pending due to late submission of documents, adding that the exercise was expected to be concluded by Wednesday. “We have completed about 60 per cent of the National Assembly candidate uploads.
Efforts are currently ongoing to wrap up the process, as we are still awaiting some candidates to submit their forms for upload. Out of 100 senatorial candidates and 360 House of Representatives candidates, approximately 169 entries are yet to be uploaded. This delay is largely due to the late submission of documents by some candidates. However, the process is progressing smoothly, with uploads being carried out daily as documents are received. The exercise is expected to be fully concluded by Wednesday. Overall, the party remains committed to ensuring that all eligible candidates are captured accurately and within the stipulated timeframe to meet the electoral timetable,” he stated.
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