Nigeria’s major opposition parties have said they are prepared for the 2027 general elections following the release of the electoral timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but warned that only credible and transparent polls would guarantee the legitimacy of the outcome.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) all welcomed INEC’s schedule, describing it as an opportunity for early preparation. However, each party stressed that public confidence would depend on the commission’s ability to deliver free and fair elections.
INEC announced that the presidential and National Assembly elections would be held on 20 February 2027, while governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for 6 March 2027.
According to the timetable, campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly polls will run from 18 November 2026 to 19 February 2027. Campaigns for governorship and state Assembly elections will begin on 15 December 2026 and end on 5 March 2027, 24 hours before voting.
Political parties are expected to conduct their primaries between 1 July and 30 September 2026, while the submission of candidates’ lists is expected between 1 October and 31 October 2026.
In the PDP, which has been plagued by internal divisions since losing the 2023 presidential election, two rival blocs issued separate declarations of readiness.
The party’s National Caretaker Committee, aligned with the minister of the federal capital territory, Nyesom Wike, said it was fully prepared to comply with INEC’s deadlines.
In a statement, the committee’s national publicity secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, urged members and aspirants to remain focused, assuring them that internal disputes and pending litigations would be resolved ahead of the primaries.
“The PDP is fully prepared to meet all constitutional and regulatory requirements within the stipulated timelines,” the statement read, while reaffirming the party’s commitment to what it described as credible leadership in 2027.
But another faction, led by the Tanimu Turaki-backed National Working Committee, said it would only be meaningful to prepare if INEC guarantees credible polls.
Its spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, said: “Whenever INEC is ready for the elections, the PDP will be ready, provided it can guarantee free, fair and credible elections.”
The NNPP also welcomed the timetable but called on INEC to use the intervening period to build public trust and deliver an election that meets both domestic and international standards.
The party’s spokesperson, Ladipo Johnson, questioned INEC’s proposed election budget of N873.778bn, describing it as excessive and difficult to justify.
“What are they using that huge amount for? Are they building new mobile phone towers to transmit results?” he asked. “I don’t know what they budgeted N800bn for, but it sounds ridiculous.”
The ADC similarly endorsed the early release of the timetable, saying it provided political parties and voters with a clearer framework for preparation. But the party insisted that transparency — particularly in the real-time electronic transmission of results — would be central to restoring faith in Nigeria’s electoral process.
In a statement, its national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said that while early planning was important, public confidence would rest on INEC’s willingness to demonstrate “technological integrity” and operational openness.
He urged INEC to clarify its readiness to implement real-time transmission of results should legal amendments be enacted, and called on the National Assembly to address what he described as lingering ambiguities in the Electoral Act.
“Nigerians have shown, time and again, that they are ready to defend the sanctity of their votes,” Abdullahi said. “What is now required is for the electoral umpire to match that civic vigilance with institutional clarity, operational transparency and administrative excellence.”
