The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has claimed that the revised election timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could make it almost impossible for the opposition to field candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, shared his reservations during an appearance on Channels Television.
He argued that the new schedule and legal requirements are almost impossible to meet.
The ADC spokesman explained that the party’s position stems from its broader objection to the Electoral Act 2026, which he argued contains provisions that create significant compliance hurdles for smaller parties.
“The rejection of the timetable is only consequential to our rejection of the Electoral Act 2026. It is very clear when INEC released its timetable that some of the requirements we will need to meet to field candidates for the 2027 elections, as contained in the Act, are almost impossible for us to meet,” he said.
Abdullahi explained that the law requires parties to submit a fully digitalised membership register across all 36 states within a short timeframe when notifying INEC of congresses or conventions.
“What the law expects us to do is that within the next 32 days or so, we will have a digitalised membership register in all the 36 states of the federation that we will be able to submit to INEC while giving them notice of our congresses or conventions. It is almost practically impossible for us to do this,” he said.
The ADC spokesperson also compared the requirement with the preparations of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), alleging that the governing party had a significant head start.
“We know for a fact that the ruling APC has commenced membership registration since February 2025 and actually hired a consultant to help them in the process of developing a digital register ahead of the 2027 election.
“What took them more than one year to do is what they expect us to do in one month,” he said.
He described the provisions as deliberate obstacles designed to weaken opposition participation.
“Even in practical terms, these are booby traps set in the path of opposition parties because if you look at the law, it says our failure to comply means we will not be able to field candidates for the election… It is all part of the game plan,” the ADC chieftain said.
The party maintains that the timetable, combined with the legal framework, is “not democratic” and could undermine the credibility of the 2027 polls if not reviewed.
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