The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has raised the alarm over an alleged plot to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into postponing the January 16, 2027 presidential election, warning President Bola Tinubu against any attempt to delay the poll.
The council alleged that it had received information that INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, would be summoned to the Presidential Villa and instructed to alter the election timetable, with only 80 days remaining before the scheduled poll.
In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the council urged Tinubu to abandon any such move and called on Amupitan to reject any directive to change the election date and immediately make any attempt to influence the commission public.
“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” the council said.
The ADC campaign council argued that Nigerians had endured three and a half years of soaring prices, shrinking incomes and persistent economic hardship, insisting that citizens must be allowed to judge the Tinubu administration at the ballot box on January 16.
“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgement,” it said.
While acknowledging Ebola as a serious public health concern, the council maintained that health professionals should be allowed to contain the disease, while INEC takes the necessary steps to protect voters and election workers.
It cited the position of the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that there was currently no reason to postpone the election, warning against using the health emergency as a political justification for delaying the poll.
The council also put INEC, domestic election observers and international election monitors on notice, demanding that any proposal to alter the timetable be made openly, supported by published health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.
“The Presidency must not use a health emergency to escape an electoral verdict,” the council said.
The allegation of a plan to summon the INEC chairman and change the election date was presented by the ADC campaign council as information it had received. The statement did not provide independent evidence confirming that the alleged meeting or directive had been arranged.
