INEC Disowns Claims of Released 2027 Election Timetable

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refuted reports suggesting that it has released the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general election, describing such information as false and misleading.

The electoral body made the clarification in a statement issued Friday night in Abuja, signed by its Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola. The statement stressed that “no timetable or schedule of activities has been released for the 2027 general election.”

INEC explained that while it has not issued an official election timetable, earlier publications by the Commission had outlined long-term projections for election dates. These projections were contained in a document titled Election Management in Nigeria, 2015–2025, one of two books presented to the public under the leadership of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. The second book, Innovations in Electoral Technology 2015–2025, focused on technological advancements introduced by the Commission over the past decade.

The Commission noted that Prof. Yakubu, before leaving office, anchored Nigeria’s general elections to a fixed pattern: Presidential and National Assembly elections on the third Saturday of February, followed by Governorship and State Assembly elections two weeks later.

According to the document, the projected dates for the next 10 general elections include:

• 2027: Presidential & National Assembly – February 20; Governorship & State Assembly – March 6
• 2031: February 16 & March 1
• 2035: February 17 & March 3
• 2039: February 19 & March 5
• 2043: February 21 & March 7
• 2047: February 16 & March 2
• 2051: February 18 & March 4
• 2055: February 20 & March 6
• 2059: February 15 & March 1
• 2063: February 17 & March 3

INEC, however, emphasised that these projections do not amount to an official election timetable. The Commission assured Nigerians that the formal timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 polls would be released “in due course” and strictly in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the Electoral Act, 2022.

The statement recalled that Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, mandates the Commission to publish a notice of election “not later than 360 days before the date appointed for a general election,” adding that any timetable issued outside this legal framework could not have come from INEC.

INEC urged the public and the media to disregard the circulating reports and rely solely on information from its official and verified communication channels for accurate updates.

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