{"id":196423,"date":"2026-02-27T19:55:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T18:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable"},"modified":"2026-02-27T21:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:18:09","slug":"adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable","title":{"rendered":"ADC rejects INEC\u2019s new election timetable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the new election timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), claiming it is designed to exclude opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the revised schedule is not merely an administrative plan but \u201ca political instrument carefully structured to narrow democratic space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ADC argued that new requirements in the Electoral Act 2026 place heavy demands on political parties.<\/p>\n

According to the timetable, party primaries will take place between April 23 and May 30, 2026. However, parties must submit a detailed digital membership register to INEC by April 2, 2026, just weeks away.<\/p>\n

The party pointed to Section 77 of the law, which states that any party that fails to submit its membership register on time \u201cshall not be eligible to field a candidate for that election.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ADC described this as more than a routine rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not housekeeping rules. They are deliberately constructed barriers to exclude opposition from partaking in the coming election,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Under the new law, the digital register must include members\u2019 names, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number (NIN), and photographs.<\/p>\n

The law also prohibits parties from using any old membership list that does not meet these standards. Failure to comply could result in disqualification.<\/p>\n

The ADC claimed that the ruling party had already started compiling such a register as far back as February 2025, long before it became a legal requirement, giving it a significant advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a product of foresight but insider knowledge. They knew what was coming,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

It added that while the ruling party had about a year to prepare, other parties are now expected to complete the same process in roughly one month. The ADC described this as \u201ca practical impossibility\u201d.<\/p>\n

The party also alleged that the overall effect of the timetable and the law is to clear the way for President Bola Tinubu to return to office without serious competition in 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cA system where one party takes advantage of incumbency to give itself a one-year head start is a rigged and corrupt system,\u201d the ADC said.<\/p>\n

The party stated that it has joined other opposition groups in rejecting the Electoral Act 2026 and the new timetable.<\/p>\n

\u201cADC will not do anything that will appear to confer legitimacy on a fraudulent system,\u201d the statement said, adding that the party is reviewing its options.<\/p>\n

It called on civil society groups and Nigerians across party lines to \u201cscrutinise this timetable and join us in demanding fairness,\u201d warning that democracy cannot survive if the rules are written to favour one side.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the new election timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), claiming it is designed to exclude opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the revised schedule is not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":196421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-196423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nADC rejects INEC\u2019s new election timetable - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the new election timetable released by the Independent National Elect ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ADC rejects INEC\u2019s new election timetable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the new election timetable released by the Independent National Elect ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-27T18:55:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-27T20:18:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/sm_1772223352.709452.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"ADC rejects INEC\u2019s new election timetable\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-27T18:55:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-27T20:18:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable\"},\"wordCount\":466,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/sm_1772223352.709452.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/adc-rejects-inecs-new-election-timetable\",\"name\":\"ADC rejects INEC\u2019s new election timetable - 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