The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticised a new plan by the National Assembly to change the date of the 2027 general elections, warning that the move would be bad for the countryโs democracy and development.
The partyโs warning came after lawmakers began moves to amend the Electoral Act to hold the presidential and governorship polls in November 2026 instead of the usual early 2027. The stated goal is to ensure all court cases about the election results are finished before the new government is sworn in on May 29, 2027.
However, in a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said this plan would create more problems than it solves.
A Cycle of Endless Campaigning
The ADC argued that moving the elections forward by about six months would drastically shorten the time meant for actual governance.
โBy cutting the current political calendar by six months, the proposal threatens to push Nigeria into a state of permanent electioneering, where politics dominates governance and development is perpetually on hold,โ Abdullahi stated.
He explained that if elections are held in November 2026, active campaigning would likely begin as early as 2025. This would mean that presidents, governors, and ministers would have less than two full years to focus on their jobs before shifting all their attention back to winning votes.
โThe President, ministers, governors, and other public officials vying for office or campaigning for others will shift their focus from performance to positioning,โ he said. โPolicies will stall, projects will be abandoned, and the entire system will tilt towards 2026 instead of 2027.โ
A Warning from the Present
The party even used the current government as an example of what happens when campaigning never really stops. Abdullahi pointed out that the focus on politics often overshadows the work of improving peopleโs lives.
โEven without the amendments, we can see with the current APC government what happens to a country where an administration is obsessed with power rather than the welfare of the people,โ he said.
โEven under the current timetable, the incumbent structures at the state and federal levels are already campaigning. In this regard, moving the elections backward will only accelerate this unhealthy trend and reduce our democracy to mere electioneering.โ
A Better Path Forward
Instead of changing the election date, the ADC urged the National Assembly to focus on fixing the root causes of the problem. The party argued that the real issue is not the election timetable, but the slow and inefficient system for resolving election disputes.
โIf the goal of the proposed amendment is to ensure that election petitions are concluded before inaugurations, the answer is not to cut short tenures or rush the electoral process,โ Abdullahi asserted. โThe solution lies in strengthening our institutions by enforcing strict timelines for tribunals, reforming electoral laws, and improving the capacity of the judiciary and INEC.โ
The party pointed to other democracies like Kenya, Indonesia, and Ghana, where courts are required by law to decide on presidential election petitions within a few weeks.
โAs these examples have shown, the amendment that we need is the one which ensures timely electoral justice through institutional efficiency โ not by altering the election calendar to accommodate inefficiency,โ the statement read.
The ADC concluded with a firm warning that changing the date alone would not help Nigerians, who expect their leaders to deliver good governance.
โChanging the date of elections without fixing the underlying weaknesses in our electoral matters adjudication and other fundamental electoral deficiencies will not solve the problem,โ Abdullahi said.
โThe 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.โ
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