***Waives nomination fees for female aspirants

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has released its timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections, fixing ₦51 million as the cost of its presidential nomination and Expression of Interest Forms.

It granted a waiver on nomination fees for female aspirants across all elective positions.

The party, in a document signed by its National Organising Secretary, Hon. Umar M. Bature, outlined a comprehensive programme covering the sale of forms, screening of aspirants, conduct of primaries and submission of candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to the timetable, the PDP will commence the process with the submission of its party register to INEC on April 21, 2026, followed by notification to the electoral body of its primaries on April 22. The sale of nomination forms is scheduled to run from April 27 to May 4, while the deadline for submission of completed forms has been fixed for May 9.

Screening of aspirants for all categories of elections including State Houses of Assembly, National Assembly, governorship and presidential will hold on May 11, with appeals slated for May 12.

The party has fixed May 17th and 18th for its presidential primary election, while primaries for the House of Representatives and Senate are scheduled for May 21 and May 23 respectively. State House of Assembly primaries will hold on May 25, while governorship primaries are billed for May 27.

Appeals arising from the exercises will be concluded on the 30th of May, 2026.

A breakdown of the fees shows that aspirants for the presidential ticket are to pay ₦1 million for expression of interest and ₦50 million for nomination, bringing the total to ₦51 million.

Governorship aspirants are to pay ₦21 million, while senatorial aspirants will pay ₦6 million. Those seeking seats in the House of Representatives are to pay N4 million naira each while State Houses of Assembly aspirants are to pay ₦3 million.

However, the party said female aspirants would only be required to pay for the expression of interest forms, effectively waiving the nomination fees as part of efforts to encourage greater participation of women in the electoral process.

The release of the timetable signals the formal commencement of the PDP’s preparations for the 2027 elections, as the party moves to consolidate its internal processes ahead of what is expected to be a keenly contested poll.