The African Democratic Congress has rejected the revised 2027 election timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress of using the new Electoral Act to rig the system in its favour before a single vote is cast.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday, February 27, the ADC said the timetable was not a routine administrative exercise but a political instrument designed to narrow democratic space and strengthen the incumbent administration’s grip on power.
“What has been presented as a routine administrative schedule of the upcoming general elections, is in fact, a political instrument carefully structured to narrow democratic space and strengthen the hand of the incumbent administration ahead of the 2027 general elections,” the statement read.
The party raised alarm over the tight deadlines imposed by the Electoral Act 2026, particularly the requirement for political parties to submit digital membership registers to INEC by April 2, 2026, just 34 days away.
“Pursuant to Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026, political parties are required to submit their digital membership registers to INEC not later than 2 April 2026. That is only 34 days away,” the ADC said.
The party warned that the consequences of missing the deadline were severe, citing Section 77(7) of the Act which states that “any party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated time shall not be eligible to field a candidate for that election.”
“These are not house-keeping rules. They are deliberately constructed barriers to exclude opposition from partaking in the coming election,” the ADC said.
The party highlighted the extensive data requirements prescribed by the law, noting that the digital register must contain each member’s name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number, and photograph in both hard and soft copies.
The ADC accused the APC of having insider knowledge of the requirements, pointing out that the ruling party began its digital registration exercise in February 2025, a full year before the law was enacted.
“What makes this requirement of digital membership particularly insidious is that the ruling party had commenced the process of this registration since February 2025, long before it became a requirement of the law. This is not a product of foresight, but insider knowledge. They knew what was coming,” the statement said.
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“They therefore had one whole year to carry out an exercise that they expect other political parties to execute in one month, during which they must collect, process and collate vast digital data and transmit same to INEC by the deadline under the threat of total exclusion. This is more or less a practical impossibility,” the ADC added.
The party argued that the arrangement violated the principle of fair competition.
“A system where one party takes advantage of incumbency to give itself a one-year head-start on a requirement that other parties only became aware of when it is almost too late is a rigged and corrupt system,” it said.
The ADC said it had joined other opposition parties in rejecting both the Electoral Act 2026 and the timetable based on it.
“This INEC time-table, which based on the said law therefore stands equally rejected for the same reason that, put together, they appear designed to serve President Tinubu’s automatic self-succession project,” the statement read.
The party warned that it would not participate in a process it considered fraudulent.
“Let it be clear: ADC will not do anything that will appear to confer legitimacy on a fraudulent system. We are reviewing our options, and will make this known in the coming days,” the ADC said.
The party called on civil society groups, democratic stakeholders, and all Nigerians to scrutinise the timetable and demand fairness.
“No democracy can endure if the rules that govern it are written to suit pre-determined outcomes,” the statement concluded.