A new report under the European Union-funded EU-SDGN II programme has raised concerns over the transparency and inclusiveness of Nigeria’s 2026 party primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The report, titled Before the Ballot, was presented to the media on Tuesday, September 22, was presented by Ralph-Micheal and Peters Florence Ganoiux,at the DAI & TKC Roundtable Dialogue on Electoral Credibility held at Wazobia Hall, Abuja Continental Hotel,funded by The European Union in collaboration with DAI and The Kukah Centre TKC.
The dialogue brought together media professionals, representatives of the Inspector-General of Police, the Court of Appeal, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC ,Fr. Atta Barkindo and other stakeholders in the electoral process was moderated by a Professional of political science at Enugu State University,Prof Okechukwu Ibeanu.
The report examined how political parties selected candidates for the 2027 elections following the 2026 electoral reforms, as well as the candidate lists published by INEC on September 12.
It noted that although the reforms introduced direct primaries, giving party members a formal role in candidate selection, key aspects of the nomination process remained largely controlled by party leaderships.
According to the report, decisions concerning nomination forms, screening, consensus arrangements, internal appeals and the submission of candidates to INEC continued to rest substantially with party leaderships.
It further observed that party rules, membership registers, result forms and INEC monitoring findings were generally not made available, limiting the ability of aspirants, party members and observers to verify compliance or pursue challenges within the 14-day period provided by law.
On nomination costs, the report noted that presidential nomination forms cost as much as ₦100 million, while the All Progressives Congress set its fees at ₦20 million for Senate and ₦10 million for House of Representatives nomination forms.
It said such costs could increase aspirants’ reliance on financial sponsors and potentially limit access to the nomination process.
The report also highlighted the representation of women, noting that women account for 346, or 9.7 per cent, of the 3,560 candidates for the House of Representatives, compared with 9.2 per cent in 2023. It added that 160 constituencies have no female candidate.
On pending litigation, the report referenced the Court of Appeal’s July 16 judgment in Zenith Labour Party v INEC, which affected membership-based eligibility rules introduced under the Electoral Act 2026.
It noted that the Supreme Court heard INEC’s appeal on September 16 and has reserved judgment.
The report said INEC’s federal candidate lists comprised 18 presidential tickets, 1,303 Senate candidates and 3,560 House of Representatives candidates, adding that every National Assembly seat has more than one candidate.
It, however, noted that pending court cases could still require amendments to the candidate lists.
For the period leading to the 2027 elections, the report recommended that political party leaderships share reasons and records relating to disputed candidate selections and replacements with affected aspirants.
It also called on INEC to publish relevant findings from its monitoring of party primaries and explain changes made to candidate lists, while urging the courts to deliver reasoned judgments early enough for their decisions to be implemented.
The report further recommended that political parties translate their Peace Accord commitments into clear guidance for their officials and supporters, while security agencies should provide impartial protection and communicate their responses to reported incidents.
For the 2027–2031 period, it recommended a review of nomination fees, the establishment of independent internal appeal panels, publication of party rules and primary election results, and the development of enforceable measures to improve the participation of women, young people and persons with disabilities.
It also proposed a joint review of nomination and electoral litigation timelines by the National Assembly, INEC and the judiciary.
The report said candidate nomination remained an important early stage of the electoral process and that addressing identified gaps would help strengthen preparations for the 2027 elections.
