Moving 2027 polls to 2026 will derail governance, stall development, ADC warns n’assembly

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says the national assembly’s proposal to move the 2027 general election to November 2026 could destabilise governance and push the country into a cycle of endless politicking.

The opposition party is reacting to a proposal by the national assembly contained in the Electoral Act Amendment bill 2025, which seeks to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct presidential and governorship elections before 2027.

According to the national assembly, the proposed amendment is designed to ensure that all election petitions are resolved before the May 29, 2027, handover date.

However, in a statement on Tuesday, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC’s national publicity secretary, said the proposal, though well-intentioned, would create more problems for Nigeria’s democracy than it seeks to address.

Abdullahi warned that moving the election date forward by six months would push the country into “permanent campaign mode”, reduce time for governance, and disrupt national development plans.

He said the move would further distract public officials from performance, noting that the country is already struggling with leaders who prioritise political power over public welfare.

“Elections happening in November 2026 mean campaigns will begin as early as 2025,” the ADC spokesperson said.

“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 even under the current electoral calendar, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had demonstrated how obsession with power undermines service delivery.

He said the answer to prolonged election disputes is not to shorten tenures or rush the process but to strengthen the judiciary and electoral institutions.

“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 cited Kenya, Indonesia, Ghana, and South Africa as examples of countries that maintain fixed election cycles while resolving disputes promptly through judicial efficiency.

“The amendment we need is the one that ensures timely electoral justice through institutional efficiency, not one that alters the election calendar to accommodate inefficiency,” he said.

He warned that shifting the date without addressing structural weaknesses would not solve the problem but worsen Nigeria’s governance deficit.

“The people of Nigeria are not just voters; they are citizens who expect good governance as dividends of democracy,” he said.

“Nigeria cannot afford a system that allows government to campaign for two years and govern for two.”

The ADC called on lawmakers to drop the amendment and instead pursue comprehensive electoral reforms that guarantee credible polls and timely resolution of disputes without compromising governance.