Campaigns for the January 16 presidential and National Assembly elections are officially scheduled to commence on August 19, following the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, despite the opening of the campaign window, major political parties appear unprepared to immediately commence nationwide rallies and other campaign activities.
Checks by The Nation reporters showed that leading parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), as well as several smaller parties, have yet to unveil detailed campaign programmes.
The elections will feature President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, who is seeking another term, alongside Peter Obi of the NDC, Atiku Abubakar of the ADC and 16 other presidential candidates.
A senior official of one of the major parties, who spoke anonymously, said the lengthy campaign period made an immediate start unnecessary.
“We are not ready to be on the move for five months. It is expensive, energy-sapping and laborious,” the official said.
None of the major parties has so far formally inaugurated campaign committees or released comprehensive schedules of activities.
The commencement of campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections is the sixth item on INEC’s timetable and schedule of activities.
The timeline is based on Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which stipulates that campaigns by political parties may begin 150 days before election day and must end 24 hours before polling.
Campaigns for governorship and State House of Assembly elections, scheduled for February 6, 2027, are expected to commence on September 9.
Political parties have until August 22 to replace candidates who withdraw from the race, in accordance with Section 31 of the Electoral Act.
INEC has also fixed August 29 as the deadline for the submission of candidates’ nomination forms, Forms 13A to E, pursuant to Section 30(1).
The Commission is expected to publish the final list of nominated candidates on September 12, at least 60 days before the election, as required by Section 32(1).
A member of the National Working Committee of a major opposition party said the leadership was not under pressure to commence campaigns immediately.
“We have a five-month window. The party leaders are planning a meeting for the end of the month to discuss the campaign plan,” he said.
An APC governorship candidate also described election campaigns as demanding, warning that the long campaign period could put considerable pressure on candidates and political parties.
“Five months for campaigns? It will overstretch us,” the candidate said.
APC to Unveil Campaign Plan
The APC said it would unveil its comprehensive campaign programme later this month.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, explained that although August 19 marks the legal commencement of the campaign period, parties are not required to hold rallies on the first day.
“August 19 is the date fixed by INEC for all parties to start the presidential and National Assembly campaign.
“There is no law that we must start on that day. The only thing is, no political party is permitted to start ahead of the day,” Morka said.
Speaking after the party’s National Working Committee meeting at its national secretariat in Abuja, Morka said the APC was deliberately taking time to structure its campaign strategy before embarking on nationwide activities.
He said the ruling party would consult widely and put adequate plans in place before officially hitting the campaign trail.
PDP Says It Is Ready
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it was fully prepared for the elections.
PDP Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed gave the assurance while receiving a delegation from the International Republican Institute.
He said the party remained committed to providing responsible leadership to Nigerians and had maintained a nationwide organisational structure over the years.
“We are PDP, and we belong to the people of Nigeria, and our yearning and aspiration is to give responsible leadership to the electorate.
“That is why, for over 20-something years, the party remained democratic, and is in all the 36 states, FCT and 774 local governments of Nigeria. I want to assure you that the PDP is fully ready for the election,” he said.
Labour Party to Leverage NLC, TUC Networks
The Labour Party (LP) said it would rely heavily on its relationship with organised labour to mobilise voters and strengthen its grassroots campaign ahead of the elections.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, said the LP had developed what he described as a strong organisational structure, an energised membership base and a credible presidential candidate.
He added that the party’s governorship and State House of Assembly candidates were also people of integrity whose credentials would attract voters.
According to Asogwa, the LP’s major advantage is its institutional relationship with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
He said the two labour centres are institutional members of the party, giving it a broad network across the country.
“As we have consistently maintained, the Labour Party is today the most structured political party in Nigeria.
“The Party is unique among all political parties because the NLC and the TUC are its institutional members. There is hardly any polling unit, ward, local government or community in Nigeria that does not have a serving or retired civil servant,” he said.
Asogwa maintained that the party had not fully utilised its labour network in previous elections but said the current leadership was determined to deploy the structure more effectively.
He said the LP would use its grassroots network and organised labour connections to promote its candidates, policies and programmes across the country.
Asogwa also expressed confidence that INEC would publish the names of the party’s governorship and State House of Assembly candidates.
He said the party had complied with the Commission’s deadline by uploading the names of its candidates before the submission window closed.
“We are hopeful that all our candidates for governorship and state Houses of Assembly will be published by the electoral body, just as they did with our Presidential and National Assembly candidates.
“Gladly, we were able to beat the deadline set by the Commission by ensuring all our candidates’ names were uploaded before the closure of the window,” he said.
