2027: Senate To Adjourn Plenary Thursday For Primaries

The National Assembly will adjourn plenary on Thursday to allow lawmakers participate in their respective political parties’ primary elections ahead of the 2027 general polls.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio disclosed this during Tuesday’s plenary, explaining that many lawmakers would be absent from the chamber due to their involvement in party nomination processes.

He said the temporary suspension of plenary was necessary to ensure lawmakers are actively engaged in their constituencies, while legislative committee work would continue during the break.

“Therefore, many senators will not be here. So, there’ll be need for us to have a slight adjournment of the plenary but committees can still continue with their oversight functions,” he said.

Akpabio added that the Senate would conclude key legislative business before the adjournment.

“We want to finish pending matters before Thursday so that senators can proceed to join their constituents for primaries according to their parties,” he said.

He also appealed to political party leaders to schedule their primaries in a way that accommodates lawmakers’ legislative responsibilities.

“I’ll appeal to party leaders… to try to fix your primaries from next week. We are sitting throughout this week so lawmakers can conclude legislative duties before participating,” he added.

Suspending plenary to enable lawmakers participate in party primaries has become a common practice in both chambers of the National Assembly.

Party primaries in Nigeria are governed by the Electoral Act, the Constitution, and regulations issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The law requires political parties to conduct transparent and democratic processes to nominate candidates for elective offices.

Under Section 84 of the Electoral Act, parties may adopt direct primaries, indirect primaries, or consensus arrangements, provided they comply with internal party rules and democratic principles.

INEC is mandated to monitor these exercises to ensure compliance, while failure to adhere to the guidelines can result in disputes or disqualification of candidates.

According to INEC’s timetable for the 2027 general elections, political parties are expected to conduct their primaries between April 23 and May 30.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has scheduled its primaries from May 15 to May 23, with screening of aspirants set for May 6 to May 9.

Meanwhile, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aligned with Nyesom Wike has fixed its presidential primary for May 17–18, alongside other dates for legislative and governorship contests later in the month.

Similarly, a faction of the Labour Party (LP) led by Nenadi Usman has scheduled its presidential primary for May 23.

INEC has slated the Presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.

Party primaries remain a crucial stage in Nigeria’s electoral process, determining candidates who will eventually appear on the ballot for the general elections. However, the process has often been marred by disputes, allegations of irregularities, and legal battles over candidate selection.