The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has raised the alarm over an alleged move to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into postponing the January 16, 2027 presidential election, warning President Bola Tinubu against using the Ebola outbreak as a justification for delaying the poll.
The council alleged that the Presidency was considering shifting the election, which is about 80 days away, and urged INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to resist any attempt to alter the announced timetable.
The allegations were contained in a statement titled “Tinubu Must Face Nigerians At The Ballot Box, Not Hide Behind Ebola,” signed by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.
The campaign council claimed it had received information suggesting that the INEC chairman could be summoned to the Presidential Villa and directed to postpone the election.
It called on Tinubu to abandon any such move, while urging Amupitan to make public any attempt to influence the commission’s electoral schedule.
“If President Tinubu believes Nigerians want another four years of his government, he should face them at the ballot box, not seek more time through the back door,” the statement said.
The ADC-PCC argued that Nigerians had endured three and a half years of rising prices, declining incomes and worsening economic hardship, insisting that voters should be allowed to decide the government’s fate at the polls as scheduled.
“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgment,” the council added.
While acknowledging the seriousness of the Ebola outbreak, the opposition campaign council said public health authorities must be allowed to contain the disease, while INEC should implement appropriate measures to protect voters and election officials.
However, it cautioned against turning the public health situation into a political justification for postponing the election.
The council also cited the reported position of the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that there was no current justification for delaying the poll, warning that the agency’s position should not be misrepresented to serve political interests.
It called on INEC, domestic election observers and international monitoring organisations to scrutinise any proposal to alter the electoral timetable.
According to the council, any decision to change the date must be publicly explained, backed by documented health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.
“The Presidency must not use a health emergency to escape an electoral verdict,” the statement said.
