THE NEW Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has uploaded details of its 2027 presidential placeholder candidate and 355 National Assembly candidates onto the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal in spite of tight deadlines.
The party National Chairman, Dr Agbo Major, disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja. Major described the achievement as historic, given the time constraints that followed the delayed compliance with court orders by INEC in recognising the authentic leadership of the party led by its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam.
He also confirmed that INEC had fully restored the original NNPP identity and logo made up of a basket of fruits on the Nigerian map on its candidate nomination portal.
“In spite of the initial delays, our situation room successfully uploaded a total of 355 National Assembly candidates, including placeholders across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. We have also completed the upload of our presidential candidate as a placeholder, in line with legal and electoral guidelines,” Major said.
He added that the uploading of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates had commenced and was scheduled for completion by Aug. 8, ahead of the window for candidate substitution.
“These achievements are not merely administrative exercises. They represent the strengthening of our structures and scope, the consolidation of our membership base and our readiness to provide purposeful leadership for Nigeria,” he said
Major, however, criticised INEC over what he called non-compliance with judicial pronouncements on time, noting that the delay created logistical challenges for the party’s preparations.
He revealed that the party’s legal team had been instructed to approach the Federal High Court to demand N10 billion in damages from the commission for late compliance with court orders.
“The FCT High Court directed INEC to update our leadership status within 72 hours and file an affidavit of compliance within 14 days. The failure to comply promptly caused significant disruption to our 2027 timetable,” he said.
He explained that the law suit was not about the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan or any individuals, but to serve as a deterrent for government institutions that delayed to obey a court order in time.
Major urged party faithful, women, youths, and diaspora groups to stay united and take advantage of the ongoing membership registration to strengthen the party’s structures across all electoral wards nationwide.
“The NNPP stands for justice, equity, inclusiveness, accountability and good governance. We remain committed to policies that will improve the welfare of the people, create jobs for our youths, empower women, promote national unity and ensure sustainable economic growth,” Major said. (NAN)
