INEC to announce new 2027 election timetable
The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that it will review the Electoral Act 2026 in order to comply with the law as regards schedules for the 2027 elections.
INEC had last Friday announced that the presidential and National Assembly elections would take place on February 20, 2027, while governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls were scheduled for March 6, 2027.
Following the release of the timetable, some Nigerians, particularly muslims, kicked against the date fixed for the election, which they argued clashed with the holy month of Ramadan
Amid the controversy, the National Assembly passed the Electoral Act 2026, which reduced the mandatory notice period for elections from 360 days to 300 days.
The revised Clause 28 states that INEC “shall, not later than 300 days before the day appointed for the holding of an election under this Act, publish a notice in each state of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory — (a) stating the date of the election; and (b) appointing the place at which nomination papers are to be delivered.”
The amendment is expected to give INEC flexibility to schedule the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections between late December 2026 and January 2027.
Legal experts believe that INEC cannot continue preparations for the 2027 elections under the 2022 Electoral Act, which has been amended to accommodate new provisions
Mr Adedayo Oketola, the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said the commission would release a “revised timetable”.
Although the media adviser was not specific on the date for the release, he, however, insisted that INEC was committed to abiding by the laws of the land.
Oketola disclosed this in an interview while reacting to the demand of some political parties for the release of a new timetable.
Some leaders of political parties told the said publication that another timetable had become inevitable following the signing of the new electoral act by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last week.
