Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), yesterday, disclosed that the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 would be concluded in or before December 2025, assuring Nigerians that the amendment would be used for the 2027 general elections.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) kicked against the proposed amendment of the Electoral Act by the National Assembly to bring forward the 2027 general elections to November 2026, saying it would hinder governance
Bamidele explained that the only reason the Muhammadu Buhari administration was unable to sign the last aspect of the electoral amendment bill was that the National Assembly transmitted it late to the Presidency.
He disclosed this in a statement after the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, read President Bola Tinubu’s request to confirm Prof Joash Amupitan (SAN) as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Tinubu had nominated Amupitan, a professor of Law, after the Council of State unanimously approved his appointment as the new INEC chairman last Wednesday, following the exit of Prof Mahmood Yakubu.
Bamidele further explained: ‘Before then, we had made our first proposal. We sent the bill to the then-president, and it was signed. When further observations were made, especially when certain individuals were disenfranchised as statutory delegates and the National Assembly sought to make corrections, the late Buhari stated that the bill was coming too close to the election.
‘Buhari then observed that he did not want to be misunderstood by the public. That is why the bill was not signed then. Between now and December 2025, we will ensure that the amendment of the Electoral Act, 2022, is concluded so that it will not be too close to the 2027 Elections’.
In a statement by ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party argued that advancing the election date would push Nigeria into a perpetual campaign cycle, shorten the effective period for governance, disrupt development planning, and further weaken institutional focus.
The party urged lawmakers to abandon the idea and instead pursue genuine electoral and judicial reforms that ensure credible elections and the timely resolution of disputes without undermining governance stability.
The statement reads: ‘ADC has noted the proposal by the National Assembly to amend the Constitution in order to hold the 2027 general elections in November 2026. While we understand the stated intent, which is to provide more time for the resolution of election petitions before the inauguration of a new administration, the ADC believes that this amendment risks creating deeper problems for Nigeria’s democracy than it seeks to solve’.
