ADC warns NASS: Moving 2027 polls to 2026 will derail governance and stall development
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned that the National Assembly’s proposal to move the 2027 general elections to November 2026 could derail governance and stall development across the country.
The opposition party raised this concern in reaction to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025, which proposes that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should conduct presidential and governorship elections before 2027.
According to the National Assembly, the move aims to ensure that all election petitions are concluded before the May 29, 2027, handover date.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, said the proposal, though seemingly well-intentioned, would create more harm than good for Nigeria’s democratic process.
He warned that moving the polls forward by six months would throw the country into a state of “permanent campaign mode,” reduce the time available for governance, and derail ongoing development efforts.
“Elections happening in November 2026 mean campaigns will begin as early as 2025. That leaves barely two years of real governance before political noise takes over.
“The president, ministers, governors, and other public officials will shift focus from performance to positioning. Policies will stall, projects will be abandoned, and governance will grind to a halt,” Abdullahi said.
He added that even under the existing electoral calendar, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has shown how an obsession with political control can undermine effective governance.
According to him, the solution to delayed election petitions lies not in cutting short political terms but in strengthening the judiciary and improving institutional efficiency.
“If the goal is to ensure that petitions are concluded before inaugurations, the solution lies in enforcing strict tribunal timelines, reforming electoral laws, and improving institutional capacity,” he said.
Abdullahi further noted that countries such as Kenya, Indonesia, Ghana, and South Africa have managed to maintain fixed election cycles while ensuring that disputes are promptly resolved through judicial efficiency.
“The amendment we need is one that ensures timely electoral justice through institutional efficiency, not one that alters the election calendar to accommodate inefficiency,” he said.
He stressed that shifting the election date without addressing deeper structural issues would only worsen the country’s governance deficit.
“The people of Nigeria are not just voters; they are citizens who expect good governance as dividends of democracy. Nigeria cannot afford a system that allows government to campaign for two years and govern for two,” he said.
The ADC therefore called on the National Assembly to withdraw the proposed amendment and instead pursue comprehensive electoral reforms that will strengthen the independence of INEC.
