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The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have pledged to hold peaceful, credible elections in 2027 and urged political leaders to run issue-based campaigns and engage responsibly.
The parties made the commitment during News Central’s National Chairmen’s Dialogue in Abuja on Thursday, where they called for greater public confidence in the electoral process and urged their members to shun violence and inflammatory rhetoric.
The ADC National Treasurer, Mani Ibrahim Ahmad, said Nigerians were determined to ensure their votes count in the 2027 elections.
“I think Nigerians are already determined, made up their mind, that this time around their votes must count,” Ahmad said.
He said Nigerians expected “nothing short of credible, free and fair elections” so that their preferred candidates could emerge as leaders in May 2027.
“Our party is committed to this resolve,” he said.
Ahmad said the ADC had also instructed its candidates to ensure their campaign messages were clear and devoid of false promises or offensive language.
“As we start our campaign, we have already talked to our candidates that they should be clear in the messages they send, no false or fake promises, and also no foul languages and so on, so that we have a clean campaign that is issue-based,” he said.
He said the party wanted its campaign messages to resonate with Nigerians and expressed confidence that the ADC was “on course” towards achieving its objectives.
“We look forward to a free, fair, credible elections next year,” Ahmad said.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) National Publicity Secretary, Rufus Aiyenigba, also called for a change in the way political parties and their leaders engage with citizens, saying political campaigns should focus on national issues rather than divisive sentiments.
He said political leaders must be “patriotic in their political engagement, their activities, their campaign programmes and actions and activities.”
He also called for better orientation of political actors and said parties should market their candidates through “robust, healthy conversation around the topical national issues.”
“Speak to issues,” he said, adding that “credible election emanates from a credible process.”
The SDP spokesman urged political parties to move national discussions beyond “the promotion of violence” and “primordial sentiments” based on religion, class or geography.
He said political campaigns should instead address issues affecting Nigerians, including poverty, national stability, cohesion and public trust in the electoral process.
“How do we get our people empowered? How do we get poverty eradicated or reduced to a bare minimum? How do you engender national stability, national cohesion?” he asked.
He also questioned how political actors could restore Nigerians’ confidence that their votes would count and called for greater engagement with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“How do we engage INEC to encourage them, to support them, to enhance their capacity to deliver credible election and to support, give every instance of support at the level of political parties to regulatory agencies responsible for election?” he said.
The SDP National Publicity Secretary further urged political party leaders to educate their members and supporters on the need to respect electoral rules.
“Political party leadership needs to also educate their members, followers, galvanise them to play by the rule,” he said.
He added, “We have only Nigeria to defend and protect, no other country will do that for us. We don’t have any other place to go, we must get it right, we must do a credible election.”
He said political parties also have a responsibility beyond elections to promote unity, peace, and inclusive governance.
“Beyond the election, Nigerians must be united, Nigerians must be peaceful and joining hands, whoever wins, will leverage other credible alternative perspectives and governance ideas,” he said.
The SDP spokesman said such an approach would help build “a truly open and transparent government system” capable of improving productivity, security and prosperity.
News Central’s National Chairmen’s Dialogue will foster honest, open dialogue about the upcoming elections, offering invited participants a platform to share viewpoints, raise concerns, and explore solutions to Nigeria’s most urgent challenges.
Watch the dialogue here:
