Political parties have received clearance from the Independent National Electoral Commission to begin campaigns for the January 16 presidential and National Assembly elections from August 19.
Despite the official start of the five-month campaign window, leading parties including the APC, NDC and ADC are reportedly yet to establish campaign committees or release detailed schedules. Party officials cited the cost and demands of sustaining campaigns for such a long period.
The campaign timetable follows Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, which requires campaigns to begin 150 days before polling and end 24 hours before election day. Governorship and State Assembly campaigns are scheduled to begin on September 9.
INEC also set August 22 as the deadline for candidate substitutions and August 29 for parties to submit nomination forms. The final list of candidates is expected to be published on September 12, at least 60 days before the presidential election.
The APC said August 19 marks the legal beginning of the campaign period but does not require parties to immediately organise rallies. National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka said the ruling party would unveil a detailed nationwide campaign programme later in the month after consultations and strategic planning.
Meanwhile, PDP Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed said the party was fully prepared for the elections, citing its nationwide presence across the 36 states, the FCT and 774 local governments. The Labour Party also said it was ready, promising to leverage its relationship with the NLC and TUC to strengthen grassroots mobilisation.
The January 16 election will feature President Bola Tinubu of the APC, Peter Obi of the NDC, Atiku Abubakar of the ADC and 16 other presidential candidates. With the campaign window officially opening, parties are expected to move from internal preparations to nationwide voter mobilisation and policy advocacy.
