Ebola: ADC Alleges Plot To Shift January 2027 Elections

The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has alleged that pressure is being mounted on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shift the January 16, 2027, presidential election, warning President Bola Tinubu against using the Ebola outbreak as a pretext to delay the poll.

In a statement titled “Tinubu Must Face Nigerians at the Ballot Box, Not Hide Behind Ebola”, signed by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, the council said reports of pressure on INEC to shift the election, just 80 days away, could not be dismissed.

“If President Tinubu believes Nigerians want another four years of his government, he should face them at the ballot box, not seek more time through the back door,” the statement said.

The council claimed it had received information that the INEC chairman was to be summoned to the Presidential Villa and instructed to shift the election.

“We are raising the alarm before that meeting takes place. President Tinubu must abandon any such attempt. Professor Joash Amupitan must refuse any instruction to change the timetable and immediately make any such approach public. The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” it said.

The ADC-PCC said Nigerians had endured three and a half years of soaring prices, shrinking incomes and relentless hardship and had the right to judge the government at the ballot box on January 16.

“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgment,” the council said.

It described Ebola as a serious public health concern, saying health professionals must be free to contain the outbreak and that INEC must take all necessary steps to protect voters and election workers.

The council noted that the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had said there was currently no reason to postpone the election, adding that the position must not be twisted into a political excuse for delay.

“The council puts INEC, domestic observers and international election monitors on notice: any proposal to change the timetable must be made openly, supported by published health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.

The Presidency must not use a health emergency to escape an electoral verdict,” the statement added.