A major political storm is brewing over a fresh proposal to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow all elections in Nigeria to be conducted on the same day in 2027.
While leading opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, African Democratic Congress, and New Nigeria People’s Party, have thrown their weight behind the move, the ruling All Progressives Congress has rejected it, warning of dire consequences.
The proposal, spearheaded by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, is being considered as part of broader constitutional amendments following zonal consultations across the six geo-political zones.
If passed, the amendment would mandate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct presidential, governorship, National Assembly, and state assembly polls in a single day, a move touted to drastically cut costs and reduce post-election bandwagon effects.
Backing the initiative, the National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, Ladipo Johnson, argued that same-day polls would be both cost-effective and efficient.
He said, “The costs of elections are too high, just like those of governance. And any reasonable thing to reduce the costs should be looked at. Even for the political parties, it is cheaper and more efficient for them to do their elections in one day.”
On concerns over rigging, Johnson dismissed fears, saying, “If these people are going to rig, they will rig. But if you have all your elections in one day, all your candidates are able to pool together resources so that the polling unit is properly manned.”
The Labour Party also gave its full backing. National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said the proposal would eliminate staggered elections and reduce bandwagon effects.
He noted, “The Labour Party aligns itself with the position that all elections should hold the same day… It’s also going to help reduce the cost of funding elections, logistics, and the bandwagon effect where some voters, after knowing who wins the presidential poll, will start moving towards that direction in subsequent elections.”
For the PDP, Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, welcomed the idea but warned against manipulation.
“It is a welcome development if it is done with sincerity, clear intent and purpose. The truth is that the bogus amount that the government spends on elections is mind-boggling. There’s no rational reason why we spend over $350 billion conducting elections in this country, where at the end of the day, you don’t get value for the outcome of such votes,” he said.
The ADC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, also declared support but with a caveat.
“Our support for doing the election on the same day is contingent on INEC logistics being top notch. At the moment, we don’t see any evidence that INEC is committed to improving its logistics,” he said.
