Why we’re yet to upload a presidential candidate to INEC portal — APGA

By Gift ChapiOdekina, Abuja

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has explained why it is yet to upload the name of a presidential candidate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal for the 2027 general election, saying the decision follows the party’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, while speaking to Vanguard, said its National Executive Committee (NEC), after extensive consultations, resolved not to field a presidential candidate for the 2027 election in support of President Tinubu’s re-election bid, which it described as being in the national interest.

Opara, however, clarified that it remains fully involved in the electoral process and has successfully uploaded the names of all its candidates for the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly elections to the INEC nomination portal.

“We have not uploaded a presidential candidate because the National Executive Committee of the party has already taken a decision to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027,” Opara told Vanguard.

“However, I can confirm that APGA has successfully uploaded all its candidates for the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly elections to the INEC portal,” he said.

According to him, the absence of a presidential candidate on the INEC portal should not be misconstrued as a failure to meet electoral requirements but rather as a deliberate political decision arising from its earlier endorsement of the president.

He further maintained that its alliance at the presidential level does not diminish its determination to contest legislative elections across the country, stressing that its focus is to strengthen its presence in the National Assembly and state legislatures.

Opara said APGA remains committed to deepening democracy and providing quality representation through its candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly, adding that all necessary documentation for those candidates has been duly submitted to INEC within the stipulated timeframe.

He urged its members and supporters to remain united and mobilise support for its legislative candidates while backing President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

The clarification comes amid public interest over the absence of an APGA presidential candidate on INEC’s nomination portal following the party’s endorsement of President Tinubu for a second term.