Nigeria’s electoral commission and most of its registered political parties are telling contradictory stories about access codes for the 2027 general elections — and the clock is ticking.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has already issued the codes that allow parties to upload candidates’ details to its online nomination portal.
Most parties, however, insist they have received nothing. The dispute broke over the weekend, just days after the portal opened on Saturday, June 27, 2026.
At stake is the submission of Forms EC9, EC9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, and 9E — documents that capture the personal particulars and lists of nominated candidates. INEC’s deadline for presidential and National Assembly nominations is 6:00pm on July 11, 2026.
INEC Says Training Came First, Codes Came With It
The commission is not backing down. Its Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, dismissed the parties’ complaints outright.
“Any party claiming that they do not have the access codes, ask them if they were at the training on Thursday and Friday. Were they expecting to have been given codes without the training?”
She added: “The training continues and if by Monday they have not got the codes, then they can now make such claims.”
A separate top INEC source was equally firm, though more measured. “We are interfacing with them. They have until July 11 to finish their uploads. It’s too early to talk about compliance or otherwise.”
The source further noted: “The ICT personnel of the parties know the processes of uploading the required details. Last Thursday and Friday, we had a training for representatives of political parties. If they have challenges, our personnel are on standby to assist.”
According to INEC’s revised timetable, access codes for the submission of nomination forms became available for collection from Friday, June 26, 2026, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The window for governorship and State House of Assembly candidates opens later — from 9:00am on July 18, 2026, closing at 6:00pm on August 8, 2026.
The exercise operates under Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires candidate nominations to be submitted no later than 120 days before an election.
Most Parties Say They Are Still Waiting
Despite INEC's assurances, the parties are telling a different story. Bolaji Abdullahi of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Mohammed Ishaq of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) both said the codes were not available and that INEC had only told them to wait until the codes were ready.
The Labour Party‘s spokesperson was unavailable, but a senior party official said the situation was clear: “As I speak to you, no political party has been issued the code you are talking about. Though INEC has released the necessary nomination forms, which our party issued to candidates to fill and return, we will upload the forms and other documents as soon as INEC makes the code available.”
The official added that parties were told the codes might be ready by Monday, June 30.
Meanwhile, the New Nigeria Peoples Party‘s (NNPP) National Secretary, Dipo Olayoku, offered a nuanced view.
He confirmed that INEC had already started issuing codes for the Osun State off-season governorship election but was not certain whether the process had started for the 2027 general elections. He was, however, charitable toward the commission.
“The work load has been very heavy and choking, especially going by the 2026 Electoral Act which was not done in good faith by the National Assembly. Apart from that, INEC has just conducted an off-season governorship election in Ekiti State as well as bye-elections in six states. And political parties too are not helping matters with litigations arising from internal wrangling. This constitutes a huge distraction to INEC.”
Notably, only one party — Because Of Our Tomorrow (BOOT) — confirmed that it had received the code, with its National Chairman, Sunny Adenuga, saying the party would collect it early the following week.
NDC Adds a Legal Twist to the Access Code Dispute
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) faces a more complicated battle. The party approached INEC for its access code but got no response — and for good reason.
On Friday, June 27, a Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, ordered INEC not to recognise the NDC as a political party until outstanding legal disputes were resolved.
The court had earlier overturned its own December 2025 judgment, which had compelled INEC to register the NDC.
The reversal followed an application by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which alleged ownership of the logo the NDC used to secure its registration.
The NDC rejected the ruling and vowed to appeal. Its National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Zuwoghe, remained defiant.
“We still have faith in the Nigerian judiciary. The Federal High Court is not the final court in the land. We will pursue this matter through the appellate process and are confident that justice will prevail.”
Zuwoghe assured supporters that the party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, his running mate, and all NDC candidates would remain on the ballot.
He also disclosed that he had personally visited INEC on Thursday and returned after a press briefing on Friday to obtain the party’s upload code.
“This court ruling has not stopped our work. Immediately after this briefing, I am proceeding to INEC to continue the process of uploading our candidates,” he said.
Furthermore, Zuwoghe argued that the NDC’s rapid rise had rattled existing political forces. “Within four months of registration, the NDC has emerged as a major opposition force. That naturally attracts political attention,” he said.
The NDC’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, confirmed that the party intended to be in court to file for a stay of execution of the Lokoja ruling.
Two rival factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — represented by spokesmen Ini Ememobong and Jungudo Haruna — had not responded to inquiries at press time. The leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) also declined to comment.
Some party stakeholders, meanwhile, argued that access codes were not the most critical issue — pointing out that candidates’ names do not appear on the ballot anyway, only party logos.
They cited lawmakers from Plateau State as an example: those lawmakers won their seats through court-backed processes after originally-uploaded candidates were disqualified over illegal party congresses.
