The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the revised 2026–2027 electoral timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging that it contains “boobytraps” designed to exclude opposition parties from contesting the 2027 general elections.
In a press statement dated Friday, February 27, 2026, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party described the timetable as more than a routine administrative schedule.
“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,” Abdullahi said.
Tight Deadlines, Risk of Disqualification
According to the ADC, the timetable mandates political parties to conduct their primaries between April 23 and May 30, 2026 — a window it said is only 55 to 92 days away.
More troubling, the party noted, is the requirement under Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 that political parties must submit their digital membership registers to INEC not later than April 2, 2026 — just 34 days from now.
Section 77(7), it added, stipulates that any party that fails to meet the deadline “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,” Abdullahi stated.
He further pointed to Section 77(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which prescribes that the digital register of members must contain detailed information including name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number (NIN), and photograph in both hard and soft copies.
In addition, Section 77(6) prohibits the use of any pre-existing register that does not contain the specified information.
“According to this law, failure to meet these requirements would result in disqualification,” he warned.
Allegation of Insider Advantage
The ADC alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had already begun compiling a compliant digital membership register as far back as February 2025 — long before it became a legal requirement.
“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,” Abdullahi said.
“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.”
He argued that democratic competition must be built on a level playing field, not a system that confers structural advantage on the incumbent.
“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,” he declared.
‘Automatic Self-Succession Project’
The ADC said it had joined other opposition parties in rejecting what it described as a “corrupted Electoral Act 2026,” adding that the timetable, being anchored on the law, also stands rejected.
“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,” Abdullahi said.
He made it clear that the party would not legitimise what it considers a flawed process.
“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 party also called on civil society groups and democratic stakeholders to scrutinise the timetable and demand fairness.
“We call on civil society, democratic stakeholders, and patriotic Nigerians across party lines to scrutinize this timetable and join us in demanding fairness, because no democracy can endure if the rules that govern it are written to suit pre-determined outcomes,” Abdullahi stated.
