He maintained that the word should not be taken as an insult but understood as a matter of religious perspective.

The post read in part, “You are an INFIDEL. I am an INFIDEL. We are all INFIDELS. An INFIDEL is someone who does not have the same religious beliefs as the person speaking.

“If a Muslim is the one speaking, Christians and Traditional religions worshippers are INFIDELs. If a Christian is the one speaking, Muslims and Traditional religions worshippers are INFIDELs. If a Traditional religions worshipper is the one speaking, Christians and Muslims are INFIDELs

“Therefore, if you are called an INFIDEL, it is not an insult. Simply respond by calling the person an INFIDEL too. DAZZOL.”

The post is coming after Olayinka, in an earlier reaction on the same platforms, criticised a cleric identified as Shafiy Adeba over remarks he described as extremist.

He had claimed the cleric said Muslims had a “right” to enslave non-Muslims and had declared war against those he termed infidels.

The post read in part, “This Cleric, by name Shafiy Adeba, said Muslims have ‘Right’ to enslave Non-Muslims. He declared war against those he called infidels ‘Rooted In Islam’. And he is preaching this nonsense in Yorubaland?

“A land of educated and civilised people with Christians, Muslims and Traditional religions worshippers living together under the same roof?

“Methinks people like this man should be behind bars because extremist preachers like him caused Boko Haram that Nigeria is still battling today.”

INEC had initially fixed Saturday, August 8, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to upload their candidates but extended the exercise by three days to Tuesday, August 11, following appeals from parties that had yet to complete the process.

The National Chairman of the APC, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, said the ruling party completed the exercise before the original deadline.

According to him, the party successfully uploaded candidates for all elective positions, including state Houses of Assembly, National Assembly, governorship and presidential contests.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, Yilwatda said the process involved the nomination, documentation, verification and electronic submission of thousands of candidates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Yilwatda said, “The APC has once again demonstrated that we are prepared for the responsibility of governing Nigeria. We did not wait until the last minute.

“We planned, coordinated our structures and ensured that our candidates were successfully uploaded before the expiration of the original deadline. This is what organisation, discipline and responsible political leadership mean.”

He described the completion of the exercise as an indication of the party’s preparedness for the 2027 elections.

PDP Faction Confirms Submission

The spokesman for the Wike-led faction of the PDP, Jungudo Haruna, also confirmed to Punch that the group had completed the upload of its candidates.

“We have uploaded our candidates’ names. There were no glitches,” Haruna said.

The spokesman for the NDC, Osa Director, similarly confirmed that the party had concluded the process.

“We have completed ours,” he said.

The SDP spokesman, Rufus Aiyenigba, also confirmed that the party had successfully submitted its candidates through the electoral commission’s portal.

With the extended deadline set for Tuesday, parties yet to complete the exercise are expected to conclude their submissions before the INEC portal closes.