INEC Announces New Dates for 2027 General Elections

The commission made this announcement on February 26, 2026, in a statement made available to the press and also shared on the commission’s social media pages.

The statement, signed by the National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mallam Mohammad Kudu Haruna, states that the elections will now be held one month faster than was previously announced two weeks ago.

In the INEC revised timetable and schedule for the 2027 general elections, the Presidential and National Assembly Elections, earlier fixed for Saturday, 20th February 2027, will now hold on Saturday, 16th January. 2027.

Also, the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections earlier slated for Saturday, 6th March 2027 has been pushed forward to Saturday, 6th February 2027.

INEC also adjusted the primary elections and campaigning timetable in exercise of its powers in the Electoral Act 2026.

The new calendar sets the conduct of Party Primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from the primaries, to commence on 23rd April 2026 and end on 30th May 2026.

The Presidential and National Assembly campaigns will now commence on 19th August 2026, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly campaigns will commence on 9th September 2026, with all campaigns ending 24 hours before the election day.

According to the electoral umpire, the new calendar follows the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026, which introduced adjustments to statutory timelines governing pre-election and electoral activities, thus necessitating the Commission to conduct a review that aligns with the new legislation.

The change in dates might have also resulted from the concerns raised by a section of the Muslim community who pointed out that the earlier dates would clash with the 2027 Ramadan season, thus subjecting adherents to the grueling electoral process during the fasting period. Among the high-profile individuals who made this call is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who will be aiming to once again have his name on the ballot for the 2027 presidential election.

The 2027 presidential elections will be the earliest Nigerians have headed to poll to elect a president since democracy was restored in 1999. Previous presidential elections have all been conducted between February and April.

INEC will be having another busy year as Nigerians will be heading to the polls to choose new leaders across the national and state political positions.

Next year, the commission will be led by Professor Joash Amupitan SAN, who was sworn in by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 23, 2025, on a 5-year tenure after the end of the two terms of Professor Yakubu Mahmood.

The commission will be conducting the national elections on a budget of ₦873 billion. From the huge budget, ₦379.75 billion will cater to operating costs,  ₦92.32 billion for adminstrative cost, while ₦209.21 billion will go to financing the technological costs. Other costs include Election capital costs, which will gulp ₦154.91billion while ₦42.61 billion will cover miscellaneous expenses.

The presidential election is going to dominate headlines as Nigerians will be exercising their constitutional right to elect a leader on a four-year mandate.

The incumbent Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would be hoping to retain residence at the Aso Rock villa for another four years after he won the 2023 presidential elections with 8,794,726 votes. So far, Tinubu’s four-year tenure has been spent executing what he tags “painful but necessary” reforms like the removal of the fuel subsidy, which he unceremoniously announced during his swearing-in ceremony.

Tinubu and his vice president, Kashim Shettima, are all but certain to receive the APC presidential nomination, but they will be faced with a strong task of convincing Nigerians on why they deserve another four years running the country.

In the 2023 presidential election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) finished second with 6,984,520 whilePeter Obiof the Labour Party (LP) finished third with 6,101,533 votes. Both of them have since dumped their respective parties to become members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

While the ADC is shaping up to be the leading opposition party in the run-up to the 2027 presidential election, its chances at the poll will be greatly determined by whoever emerges as its presidential nominee and the management of the potential fallout.

Nigerians will have their eyes on INEC, whose capacity to conduct free and fair elections will be scrutinised, especially after the winner of the 2023 presidential election was unceremoniously announced in the middle of the night at 4AM.