Nigeria’s election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), will on Wednesday, August 19, in line with the timetable it previously published, blow the whistle for the commencement of campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027.
However, several major political parties are yet to establish campaign committees or publish detailed schedules for their activities.
A survey by The Nation reporters indicated that the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) were not yet ready to begin nationwide campaign activities.
Smaller parties were also reportedly still preparing their plans.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC is being challenged by Peter Obi of the NDC, Atiku Abubakar of the ADC and 16 other candidates, according to the draft.
The presidential election will be held alongside National Assembly elections on January 16.
“We are not ready to be on the move for five months. It is expensive, energy-sapping and laborious,” an unnamed official of one of the major parties said.
INEC Sets Campaign Timetable
The presidential and National Assembly campaign period is the sixth item on INEC’s timetable and schedule of activities.
The period is based on Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, which provides that political-party campaigns should begin 150 days before polling day and end 24 hours before the election.
Campaigns for governorship and state House of Assembly elections scheduled for February 6, 2027, are expected to begin on September 9, 2026.
Political parties have until August 22 to replace candidates who withdraw from the contest, according to the draft.
They also have until August 29 to submit candidates’ nomination forms, identified in the draft as Forms 13A to E, under Section 30(1) of the Act.
INEC is expected to publish the final list of nominated candidates on September 12.
Section 32(1) requires the list to be published at least 60 days before an election.
APC Plans Nationwide Programme
Felix Morka, the APC National Publicity Secretary, said the ruling party would unveil a detailed nationwide campaign programme later in August.
Morka said August 19 was the legal opening of the campaign period but did not require political parties to organise rallies on that date.
“There is no law that we must start on that day. The only thing is, no political party is permitted to start ahead of the day,” he said.
He spoke after a meeting of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) at the APC secretariat in Abuja.
Morka said the party was consulting and planning its activities before beginning a wider campaign.
PDP Says It Is Ready
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed said the party was ready for the elections.
He made the statement while receiving a delegation from the International Republican Institute (IRI).
“We are PDP, and we belong to the people of Nigeria, and our yearning and aspiration is to give responsible leadership to the electorate,” Mohammed said.
He described the party as a nationwide organisation with structures in all 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the 774 local government areas.
Labour Party Courts Workers
The Labour Party (LP) said it would use its relationship with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to mobilise voters.
LP National Publicity Secretary Ken Asogwa said the party had an organisational structure, an active membership base and a presidential candidate it considered credible.
He said the party’s relationship with organised labour gave it an advantage at the grassroots.
“The Party is unique among all political parties because the NLC and the TUC are its institutional members,” Asogwa said.
He added that the party intended to use labour unions and its local network to promote its candidates and policies.
Asogwa also said the party had uploaded the names of its governorship and state House of Assembly candidates before the close of the submission window.
He expressed hope that INEC would publish the names alongside the party’s presidential and National Assembly candidates.
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