The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the nomination portal for presidential and National Assembly candidates will close on June 17. This was stated by Festus Okoye, the national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, during a recent address in Abuja. He urged political parties to meet this deadline to ensure their candidates are registered for the upcoming elections.

Okoye also highlighted that the nomination portal for governorship and state assembly candidates will shut down on July 15. He emphasized the importance of compliance, noting that any political party that fails to upload the necessary lists and details of its nominated candidates will be disqualified from having a candidate for that position.

According to Okoye, the Electoral Act mandates that political parties have 180 days to submit the names of their candidates, who must have been selected through valid primaries. He cautioned that any party that submits a candidate who does not meet the qualifications stipulated in the Act could face a fine of 10 million naira. He stressed that the commission will not accept nominations that do not adhere to constitutional requirements, reinforcing the need for parties to diligently screen their candidates before submission.