The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign council has alleged a plot to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the January 16, 2027 presidential election over the Ebola outbreak.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication of the campaign council, claimed the party had received information that INEC chairman Joash Amupitan could be summoned to the Presidential Villa and instructed to change the election date.
Shaibu, however, did not provide evidence to substantiate the allegation.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to abandon any alleged move to alter the election timetable, insisting that he should seek re-election through the ballot box rather than postpone the poll.
“Professor Joash Amupitan must refuse any instruction to change the timetable and immediately make any such approach public,” the statement reads.
“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa.
“Nigerians have endured three and a half years of soaring prices, shrinking incomes and relentless hardship. They have the right to judge this government at the ballot box on 16 January.
“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgment.”
While acknowledging the seriousness of Ebola as a public health concern, Shaibu warned against using the outbreak as justification for delaying the election. He called on health professionals to sustain containment efforts and urged INEC to take measures to protect voters and election workers.
The ADC spokesperson also cited comments by Jide Idris, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), who said there was no current justification for postponing the 2027 general election over the outbreak.
“As of now, there is no need for that. We in the health sector will not use disease issues as a political weapon,” Idris said on Monday.
Shaibu called on INEC, domestic observers and international election monitors to scrutinise any proposal to change the election timetable. He said any such proposal should be made publicly, supported by published health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.
Separately, Adewole Adebayo, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), cautioned against postponing the election or cancelling political campaigns because of the outbreak.
Speaking at a dinner organised by the SDP presidential campaign council in Abuja on Sunday, Adebayo argued that a single confirmed case was insufficient to justify shutting down public activities.
