The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that campaigns for the Presidential election scheduled for January 16 will formally take off today in conformity with its norms.
But not now.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) are either not ready to hit the campaign trail, or are smaller parties, a survey by our correspondents showed, writes The Nation.
Today, campaigns will be launched inside offices of the National Assembly. The elections will be held simultaneously with the presidential poll.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress faces a challenge from Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress and 16 others.
“We’re not ready to be moving for five months. It’s expensive, energy-consuming and laborious,” a senior figure in one of the top parties said last nite.
So far, none of the parties has established up campaign committees or issued schedules of campaign activity.
The campaign for the presidential and National Assembly elections is sixth on the timeline and schedule of operations provided by the Commission. Campaigns & Elections
This is in consonance with the requirement of Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 that the campaign of each political party shall commence 150 days before polling day and terminate 24 hours before that day.
The campaign for the governorship and Houses of Assembly elections fixed on February 6 next year will commence on September 9.
Section 31 of the Electoral Act states that the parties have till August 22 to replace any of their candidates who withdraws from the contest.
The parties have till 29 August to submit candidates’ nomination forms (Form 13A to E) according to INEC, in line with Section 30 (1).
The Commission is likely to publish the final list of nominated candidates on September 12 as per Section 32(1) which states that the list should be published, at least, 60 days before the election.
One of the National Working Committee (NWC) members of a major opposition party, told NAN on condition of anonymity, that the party leaders were not in a hurry to commence campaigns.
He remarked, “There is a five-month window. “Party leaders are planning to meet at the end of the month to discuss the campaign plan.”
A governorship candidate on the platform of the APC, who noted that campaigns need strategy, said the long duration given for campaigns can cause stress.
‘Five months for campaigns?’ he said: “We’ll be stretched too thin.”
Morka claims APC will announce plan
There are plans to roll out a comprehensive, national campaign program later in the month, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka informed newsmen.
He stressed that the August 19 date is the official beginning of the campaign window but it is not obligatory for parties to initiate rallies immediately.
Morka said, “August 19 is the date fixed by INEC for all parties to begin the presidential and National Assembly campaign.
“There’s no law that we have to start that day. The only thing is, no political party may begin before the day.” Politics
Morka told reporters at the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting that was held yesterday at the party’s secretariat in Abuja that the ruling party was intentionally building its strategy before reaching the platform.
Before going into the campaign trail, APC would consult and plan thoroughly, he said.
The party is ready for the polls, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed told a team of the International Republican Institute.
“We are PDP and we are for the people of Nigeria. Our aspiration and yearning is to give responsible leadership to the electorate,” he stated.
“That is why the party was democratic for over 20 something years, and is in all the 36 states, FCT and 774 local governments of Nigeria. He said, “I want to assure you that we are ready for the election.” Historical background
LP will campaign on NLC, TUC platforms
The Labour Party (LP) claimed it will use its connection with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to rally voters and boost its grassroots campaigns.
“The party has built formidable organisational structure, an energised membership base and a credible presidential candidate,” stated the National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa.
He said the party’s gubernatorial and House of Assembly candidates were individuals of integrity and acceptability, stressing that their credibility would attract votes.
Asogwa said the LP’s strength was its institutional link with organised labour.
He said, “As we have always said, the Labour Party today is the most structured political party in Nigeria. Politics
The party is unique among other political parties in that the NLC and the TUC are its institutional members. “There is hardly a polling unit, ward, local government or community in Nigeria without a serving or retired civil servant.
No other political party, including the APC, can truly claim such a large countrywide structure.
“We have never tapped this potential before but today the current leadership of the Party has gone to marry the Labour Unions in a manner not seen before,” he remarked.
The party, he added, would now leverage on the power of the labour unions and its grassroots network to sell its candidates and programs to Nigerians.
He said he was optimistic that the electoral board would disclose names of LP governorship and House of Assembly candidates.
He said the party met the INEC deadline of uploading the names of its candidates before the closing of the window for submission.
“We are optimistic that all our candidates for governorship and state Houses of Assembly would be published by the electoral body, as it did for our Presidential and National Assembly candidates,” Asogwa added.
“We were fortunate to beat the deadline set by the Commission by making sure that all our candidates names were uploaded before the closure of the window.”
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