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INEC recants, pulls back on 2027 election dates *Campaigns begin August, September
Campaigns for 2027 general elections have been scheduled to commence on August 19, 2026, based on the revised electoral schedule announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday.
In the timetable and schedule of activities for the polls, INEC announced new dates for the presidential and governorship elections in compliance to the new 2026 Electoral Act, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu a fortnight ago.
Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday, that adjustment followed the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022, and the introduction of new statutory timelines.
He wrote: “The Commission had earlier fixed Saturday, 20th February 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections and Saturday, March 6, 2027, for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections.
“Following the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026… the Commission has reviewed and realigned the Schedule to ensure full compliance with the new legal framework.”
Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, added that the revised timetable, the presidential and National Assembly elections will now be held on Saturday, January 16, 2027, while the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2027.
Stating that the Commission also outlined key milestones leading up to the polls, he said party primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from them, would now run from April 23 to May 30, 2026, while campaigns for presidential and National Assembly candidates will begin on August 19, 2026, while governorship and state assembly campaigns will commence on September 9, 2026.
“As provided by law, campaigns shall end 24 hours before Election Day. Political parties are strongly advised to adhere strictly to these timelines. The Commission will enforce compliance with the law,” Haruna stated, adding that the revised timetable was consistent with the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2026, and had been published on its official platforms.
The Commission, which also announced a minor adjustment to the Osun State governorship election, moving it from August 8 to August 15, 2026, added that while some activities for the Ekiti and Osun governorship polls had already been conducted, all remaining processes would strictly follow the new Electoral Act.
He said: “The successful conduct of the forthcoming elections remains a collective responsibility. The Commission calls on all stakeholders to cooperate in ensuring peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections that reflect the sovereign will of the Nigerian people.”
The change came 13 days after the electoral umpire first announced dates for the general elections on February 13, 2026.
But the decision was faulted by many Nigerians, including politicians, who pointed out that the dates coincided with Ramadan, a period of fast for Muslim faithful.
The new dates also came eight days after President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 into law, following the passage of the bill by the National Assembly after months of deliberations.
The shift in dates marks one of the earliest major administrative consequences of the new electoral framework ahead of 2027.
With the revised calendar now in place, political parties, candidates, and voters are expected to adjust their preparations as Nigeria moves into another election cycle under an amended law.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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