Jane Salihu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has granted political parties additional time to submit their governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates for the February 2027 General Election.
The extension was disclosed by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, in a statement issued on Saturday, following appeals by political parties for more time to complete the submission process.
Haruna said the deadline, which was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, August 8, 2026, has now been extended to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
He explained that the extension applies to the uploading of candidates’ lists through the dedicated portal for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
In a related development, INEC announced that voters in Osun State who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, 2026, to print downloadable copies of their replacement cards.
The Commission said the deadline would enable it compile data on downloaded PVCs and determine the final statistics of collected cards ahead of the August 15 Osun State Governorship Election.
INEC recalled that PVC collection in Osun State commenced at the Registration Area level on July 22 and was initially scheduled to end on July 28, 2026.
The exercise was subsequently extended to July 31 following complaints from voters over large crowds and difficulties encountered at collection centres.
Collection later moved to the Local Government Area level and ran from August 1 to August 7, 2026.
The electoral body also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
INEC assured affected voters that the stolen cards could not be used to vote, urging those affected to make use of the replacement downloadable PVCs provided by the Commission.
The Commission said the measures were part of efforts to resolve outstanding administrative and voter-related issues ahead of the Osun governorship election.
With the PVC download window closing on Sunday and the candidate submission deadline for the 2027 elections now extended to August 11, INEC is simultaneously addressing immediate voter concerns in Osun while accommodating political parties preparing for the next general election.
The electoral commission reaffirmed its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election in Osun State on August 15, 2026.
