Following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the February 20, 2027 general elections, only the All Progressives Congress (APC) and four other parties are regarded as ready to field candidates nationwide.
While 16 registered political parties are contending with structural, leadership and operational issues that may affect their participation.
INEC’s timetable sets February 20, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, with March 6, 2027 earmarked for governorship and state assembly polls.
Party primaries are scheduled between May 22 and June 20, 2026, and nationwide campaigns are set to begin in September 2026.
The timetable compresses the operational window for political parties to organise, recruit candidates, and conduct internal processes, presenting a test of organisational capacity across registered parties.
Findings from Vanguard’s review indicate that among the 21 registered political parties, five parties currently have the national structures, administrative depth and electoral experience needed to realistically compete in presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state assembly contests across most states. These are:
- All Progressives Congress (APC)
- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
- Labour Party (LP)
- New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)
- Social Democratic Party (SDP)
The APC has been active in preparation, engaging in nationwide membership drives, strengthening grassroots networks and conducting internal organisational planning in anticipation of the elections.
In addition to APC’s readiness, the PDP, LP, NNPP and SDP have structures and nationwide presence that position them to participate in the upcoming electoral cycle, despite ongoing leadership disputes and organisational realignments in some cases.
However, 16 other registered political parties are reported to face structural weaknesses, organisational deficiencies, leadership disputes, funding shortages and unresolved legal battles that may hinder their ability to field candidates nationwide. Parties identified in this category include (but are not limited to):
- All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
- African Action Congress (AAC)
- Action Democratic Party (ADP)
- Accord
- Action Alliance (AA)
- Boot Party (BP)
- National Rescue Movement (NRM)
- Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)
- Young Progressive Party (YPP)
- Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)
- Youth Party (YP)
Newly‑registered parties such as Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Many of these smaller parties lack fully functional ward, local government or state structures, and they operate mainly in limited regional strongholds without the nationwide organisation necessary for a full presidential contest.
The release of the 2027 election timetable has created a compressed operational period for political parties to complete registration of candidates, build structures and comply with INEC’s requirements.
For the APC and the other four relatively organised parties, this offers a clear schedule to coordinate primaries, public engagement and campaign activities.
For the 16 parties struggling with organisational challenges, the timetable places pressure on leadership and administrative systems to meet registration deadlines and build nationwide presence.
