There is palpable apprehension within the opposition camps over alleged plans by the Bola Tinubu administration to shift election dates already scheduled for the 2027 elections.
Going by the timetable and guidelines released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and state assembly elections are billed to hold on February 6, 2027.
The opposition, however, alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was planning to latch on to the current fears over the Ebola outbreak to shift the poll dates.
Raising the alarm on Wednesday, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) alleged a plot to pressure INEC into shifting the election dates, warning President Tinubu against “evading an electoral verdict.”
The campaign council claimed it received information that INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, could be summoned to the Presidential Villa and directed to alter the election timetable, with only 80 days to the poll.
In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the ADC-PCC urged Tinubu to perish any such thought and called on Amupitan to reject and publicly disclose any attempt to change the election dates.
“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” the council said.
It argued that Nigerians must be allowed to hold the Tinubu administration accountable at the ballot box after three and a half years of rising prices, shrinking incomes and economic hardship.
“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgement,” it added.
While acknowledging the Ebola outbreak as a serious public health concern, the council said health authorities should focus on containing the disease while INEC takes measures to protect voters and election workers.
Citing the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control’s (NCDC) position that there was no current justification for postponing the election, the ADC-PCC warned against exploiting the health emergency for political purposes.
It also urged INEC, domestic observers and international monitors to scrutinise any proposal to alter the timetable, insisting that such a move must be publicly announced and supported by published health evidence.
“The Presidency must not use a health emergency to escape an electoral verdict,” the campaign council said.
