PDP sells presidential form N51m, waives nomination fees for women
A verification team from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) visited the National Secretariat of the Senator Nenadi Usman-led Labour Party (LP), yesterday, to assess its leadership structure, membership records and documentation relating to its office premises.

This was as a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) released its timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections, pegging its presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms at N51 million. But the party granted a waiver on nomination fees for female aspirants across all elective positions.

The INEC team, led by Mansur Hassan, said the visit was part of a verification exercise to confirm the party’s physical structure, executive composition and compliance with INEC records.

Speaking during the exercise, Hassan clarified that the team was not on an observational mission but on a monitoring assignment.

“We are INEC monitors, not observers. We are here to monitor and correct things, not observe,” he said.

He stated that the team would verify the presence of party executives in line with INEC records, the composition of the National Working Committee (NWC) as provided in the LP Constitution, and documentation relating to the party’s secretariat.

“We want to have a look at evidence of the tenancy of this place (secretariat), the tenancy agreement, and receipt of ownership or possession. We will sight the document and have a copy of it,” he added.

Hassan further disclosed that the delegation would also request a soft copy of the party’s membership register and verify staff presence at the secretariat.

THE PDP faction, in a document signed by its National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, outlined a comprehensive programme covering the sale of forms, screening of aspirants, the conduct of primaries, and the submission of candidates to INEC.

According to the timetable, the party commenced the process by submitting its 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 will run from April 27 to May 4, and the deadline for submitting completed forms is May 9.

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

May 17 and 18 are for its presidential primary election, while primaries for the House of Representatives and Senate are scheduled for May 21 and 23, respectively. Houses 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 May 30.

Aspirants for the presidential ticket are to pay N1 million for expression of interest and N50 million for nomination, bringing the total to N51 million. Governorship aspirants are to pay N21 million, while senatorial aspirants will pay N6 million. Those seeking seats in the House of Representatives are to pay N4 million each, while House of Assembly aspirants are to pay N3 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.