The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has formally rejected the updated 2026–2027 electoral timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing it as a calculated move designed to shrink democratic space and sideline opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a press statement dated February 27, 2026, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party alleged that key provisions embedded in the new electoral framework amount to “deliberately constructed barriers” capable of excluding opposition parties from participating fully in the polls.
At the heart of the ADC’s objection is the requirement under Sections 77 and 82 of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates political parties to submit comprehensive digital membership registers to INEC no later than April 2, 2026. This deadline precedes the scheduled party primaries fixed between April 23 and May 30, 2026.
According to the party, the timeline leaves opposition parties with barely one month to compile, process and transmit extensive digital data of their members including names, sex, date of birth, addresses, states, local government areas, wards, polling units, National Identification Numbers (NIN), and photographs in both hard and soft copies.
The ADC argued that Section 77(7) of the Act further compounds the situation by stipulating that any party that fails to comply within the stipulated period “shall not be eligible to field a candidate for that election.”
“These are not routine administrative guidelines,” the statement read. “They are deliberately constructed barriers to exclude opposition from partaking in the coming election.”
The party also claimed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had begun compiling its digital membership register as far back as February 2025 nearly a year before the requirement became law, suggesting what it described as “insider knowledge” that gave the governing party a strategic advantage.
The ADC further alleged that the revised timetable, when read alongside the Electoral Act 2026, appears tailored to favour President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his anticipated 2027 re-election bid.
“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,” the statement added.
The opposition party disclosed that it has joined other political parties in rejecting what it termed the “corrupted Electoral Act 2026” and the timetable derived from it. It warned that it would not take any action that might legitimize what it described as a flawed electoral process.
“We are reviewing our options and will make our position known in the coming days,” Abdullahi stated.
The ADC also called on civil society organisations, democratic stakeholders and Nigerians across party lines to critically examine the new timetable and demand fairness.
“No democracy can endure if the rules that govern it are written to suit pre-determined outcomes,” the party concluded.
