The Federal Government has denied allegations that it is planning to postpone the January 16 presidential election, describing the claim as fake news following an alarm raised by the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) over an alleged plot to alter the electoral timetable.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government was unaware of any plan to shift the election date, insisting that postponement was not under consideration.
“The Federal Government is not planning to shift the date of the election or postpone any election.
“This is not in the works; the Federal Government is unaware of this, and this is just fake news as far as we are concerned,” Idris said.
The minister’s statement followed an allegation by the ADC-PCC that there was a plot to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into changing the January 16 election date, with about 80 days remaining before the poll.
In a statement issued by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the council alleged that INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, could be summoned to the Presidential Villa and instructed to alter the election timetable.
It urged President Bola Tinubu to abandon any such move and called on Amupitan to reject any directive to change the election date and immediately make public any attempt to influence the commission.
“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” the council said.
The ADC-PCC also insisted that Nigerians must be allowed to decide the fate of the Tinubu administration 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.
The council cited rising prices, shrinking incomes and economic hardship, arguing that voters should be allowed to assess the administration’s performance through the electoral process.
The council also warned against the possibility of a public health emergency being used to justify postponing the election, acknowledging Ebola as a serious public health concern.
It said health professionals should be allowed to contain the disease while INEC takes the necessary measures to protect voters, election officials and other personnel involved in the exercise.
According to the council, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had stated that there was currently no reason to postpone the election.
It cautioned against using health concerns as a political justification for changing the electoral timetable, insisting that any decision to delay the poll must be supported by verifiable public health evidence.
“The Presidency must not use a health emergency to escape an electoral verdict,” the council added.
The ADC-PCC called on INEC, domestic election observers and international monitoring organisations to monitor developments surrounding the election timetable.
It also demanded that any proposal to alter the date be made public, backed by published health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.
As of the time of filing this report, INEC had yet to issue an official response to the allegation by the ADC-PCC.
However, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, had stated that Nigeria’s 2027 general election could be postponed only if the Ebola outbreak becomes widespread enough to pose a significant public health risk, though he emphasized that there is currently no need for postponement.
