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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign council has alleged that there are plans to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into postponing the January 16, 2027 presidential election over Nigeria’s Ebola outbreak.
In a statement on Wednesday, Phrank Shaibu, the council’s director of strategic communication, claimed the party had received information that INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan might be summoned to the Presidential Villa and directed to change the election date.
Shaibu, however, provided no evidence to support the allegation.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to rule out any attempt to alter the electoral timetable, arguing that the president should seek another term through the scheduled vote rather than delay the election.
Shaibu also called on Amupitan to reject any directive to change the date and publicly disclose any such approach.
He maintained that the election timetable should not be altered through private discussions at the Presidential Villa, insisting that Nigerians must be allowed to assess the administration’s performance at the ballot box on January 16.
The ADC spokesperson cited rising living costs, declining incomes and economic hardship as reasons Nigerians should be allowed to vote as scheduled.
“Professor Joash Amupitan must refuse any instruction to change the timetable and immediately make any such approach public,” the statement reads.
“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa.
“Nigerians have endured three and a half years of soaring prices, shrinking incomes and relentless hardship. They have the right to judge this government at the ballot box on 16 January.
“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgment.”
Although he acknowledged the seriousness of Ebola, Shaibu warned against using the public health situation as grounds for delaying the election.
He urged health authorities to continue efforts to contain the outbreak and called on INEC to put measures in place to protect voters and election officials.
To support his position, Shaibu referred to comments by Jide Idris, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), who said on Monday that there was no current justification for postponing the 2027 general election because of Ebola.
Idris had maintained that public health concerns should not be used as political tools.
Shaibu also urged INEC, local election observers and international monitoring organisations to scrutinise any proposal to change the election timetable.
He said any consideration of a postponement should be publicly disclosed, supported by published health evidence and subjected to public debate.
On Sunday, Adewole Adebayo, the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) presidential candidate, also warned against postponing the 2027 election or suspending political campaigns because of the outbreak.
Speaking at a dinner organised by the SDP presidential campaign council in Abuja, Adebayo argued that one confirmed Ebola case was not sufficient justification for shutting down public activities.
