Extend deadline for primaries to end of July – Opposition parties tell INEC

Opposition political parties have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the deadline for party primaries for the 2027 general election to the end of July 2026.

The demand was part of a communiqué issued at the end of a national summit of opposition political parties held on Saturday in Ibadan, Oyo state.

The parties include the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by David Mark, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), chaired by Kabiru Turaki, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

At the summit, party leaders said the current timetable set by the electoral body was designed to disadvantage them.

“We consider the recent guidelines released by INEC as obstacles, deliberately engineered to impose conditions and deadlines on the opposition parties,” the communiqué reads.

“We therefore demand that INEC extends the deadline for primaries till the end of July, 2026.”

The current deadline for party primaries is May 30, 2026.

The parties said the demand for extension was necessary to ensure a level playing field ahead of the 2027 elections.

They said this was critical to Nigeria’s democratic future.

The opposition parties also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to undermine multiparty democracy and impose a one-party system on the country.

“That we shall resist all machinations by the APC to foist a one-party State on Nigeria and fight for the survival of multi-party democracy in our country,” the communiqué reads.

They also rejected what they described as efforts to “impose President Bola Tinubu as the sole Presidential candidate in 2027”, adding that opposition parties would field candidates and actively contest the elections.

The parties also accused Joash Ojo Amupitan, INEC chairman, of bias in favour of the ruling party and called for his removal from overseeing the 2027 elections.

“That the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, having shown bias and partisanship in favour of the ruling APC, should not conduct the 2027 general elections as Nigerians across board have lost confidence in him and his capacity to guarantee the required neutrality to deliver free, fair, transparent and credible elections. His continuous stay in office is vexatious and capable of triggering wide spread crisis in our nation,” the communique reads.

The opposition parties also urged the national assembly to review the Electoral Act 2026, saying certain provisions threaten the integrity of the electoral process and contradict constitutional principles.

They also called for the immediate release of politicians allegedly detained or harassed over “bailable” offences.