The All Progressives Congress (APC), People's Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) all met the deadline for the nomination of candidates and the replacement of withdrawn candidates, setting the stage for the 2023 presidential election.
Weekend traffic management on the Nomination Portal was a difficult assignment for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as political parties raced to meet the deadline.
The four political parties have complied with the standards, according to The Nation's findings, even though the Commission has not yet published a list of the parties that fulfilled the deadline.
In place of their presidential running mates, the APC and Labour parties switched. After Ibrahim Masari withdrew from the campaign, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC candidate, selected former Borno Governor Kashim Shetima as his running mate.
Yusuf Dati Baba-Ahmed replaced Doyin Okupe as Peter Obi's running mate for the Labour Party.
Festus Okoye, National Commissioner of INEC and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, responded that it was still too early to compile a complete list of the parties that adhered to the deadline.
He said that the deadlines for nominating candidates for the House of Assembly and Governorship elections as well as for the withdrawal and replacement of withdrew candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly elections coincided.
"You know the window closed today at 6pm, and because the window for the replacement of withdrawn candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly elections and submission of list for the Governorship and House of Assembly elections also closed today, our Staff have been busy sorting the documents," he said.
Therefore, as most parties waited until the very last minute, there is no way I can inform anyone what has happened at this point.