• Free-for-all campaign frenzy risks overheating Nigeria’s polity, Jega warns
• Electoral Act amendment urged to criminalise premature electioneering
• INEC admits it lacks powers to punish violators

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially recognised the new National Working Committee (NWC) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with former Senate president David Mark as national chairman.

According to an update published on INEC’s website, former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola was also recognised as national secretary of the party.

Other principal officers acknowledged by the commission include Dr Ibrahim Mani as national treasurer, Akibu Dalhatu as national financial secretary, and Prof Oserheimen Aigberaodion Osunbor as national legal adviser.

With the formal endorsement, the Mark-led leadership is expected to commence nationwide reconciliation and mobilisation efforts as the ADC positions itself to strengthen its political presence ahead of the 2027 general election.

The Guardian learnt that the delay in recognition was largely administrative. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said last week: “The delay has been largely administrative. We have had clarity now and we made the required submission to INEC last Thursday. So, we are hopeful that everything will be resolved in the coming week.”

INEC had insisted last week that the ADC had not fully complied with extant rules, but the commission has now confirmed that all requirements have been met.

Meanwhile, the growing threat of premature electioneering to Nigeria’s democracy came into focus yesterday, with warnings that without tougher sanctions, unchecked early campaigns could distort fair competition, undermine governance, and jeopardise the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission and its former chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, expressed concern over the rising wave of premature campaigns in the country and called for tougher sanctions to deter politicians from breaching electoral laws.

They urged the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to criminalise premature election campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While INEC admitted it currently lacks the legal powers to sanction politicians and political parties engaging in premature campaigns, Jega described the practice as an undesirable aberration that poses one of the gravest threats to Nigeria’s electoral integrity if left unchecked.

Speaking at a roundtable on ‘The Challenges of Premature Political Campaigns in Nigeria’ in Abuja, INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, explained that although Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 prohibits campaigns earlier than 150 days before polling day, the law is silent on penalties for violators.

He added that the only sanction provided under Section 94(2) of the Act is a fine of up to N500,000 for campaigns within 24 hours of polling day, describing the penalty as mild and insufficient to deter offenders.

He said: “Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 prohibits the commencement of campaigns earlier than 150 days (i.e. 5 months) before polling day and must end 24 hours prior to that day. The idea is to prioritise governance over electioneering from one electoral cycle to another.

“However, political parties, candidates and their supporters seem to be perpetually in election mood even when the Electoral Commission is yet to release the timetable and schedule of activities for elections or ahead of the timeframe provided by law. Around the country, we have seen outdoor advertising, media campaigns and even rallies promoting various political parties and candidates.

“These actions and activities undermine the Commission’s ability to track campaign finance limits as politicians, prospective candidates and third-party agents expend large amounts of money that cannot be effectively monitored before the official commencement of campaigns.”

Yakubu admitted that Nigerians expect INEC, as registrar and regulator of political parties, to act in the face of what he called the brazen breach of the law on early campaigns.

The INEC boss, however, said the major challenge for the Commission lies in the law itself.

“Section 94(2) of the Electoral Act 2022 imposes sanctions, albeit mild (a maximum amount of N500,000 on conviction), on any political party or a person acting on its behalf who engaged in campaigns 24 hours before polling day.

“However, there is no sanction whatsoever concerning breaches for campaigns earlier than 150 days to an election. Here lies the challenge for the Commission in dealing with early campaigns by political parties, prospective candidates and their supporters,” he added.

Yakubu warned that the absence of sanctions has emboldened politicians and their supporters to mount billboards, sponsor media adverts and organise rallies long before INEC publishes its timetable, undermining governance and frustrating the Commission’s ability to track campaign finance.

He stressed that criminalising premature campaigns was necessary to safeguard the country’s electoral process. Delivering the keynote address, Jega argued that early campaigns create uneven playing fields, confer unfair advantages on those who jump the gun, entrench lawlessness and impunity, and divert incumbents’ focus from governance to politics.

According to the former INEC boss, most early campaigners are often financed dubiously through so-called third parties, in flagrant violation of campaign finance regulations.

He warned that without firm action, the 2027 elections risk being compromised by what he described as a free-for-all campaign frenzy that could overheat the polity and destabilise the electoral process.

Jega said: “All election campaign offences, especially premature campaign offences, should be carefully defined, stiff penalties specified, and strictly applied where applicable. All candidates and their parties, and especially incumbent office holders and their political parties, should be vicariously held responsible and penalised for premature campaigns for them by third-parties.

“When incumbents do it and get away with it, or other ‘third parties’ do it on their behalf and get away with it, a spiral of illegalities and lawlessness unfolds, undermining the rules-based system and the integrity of the electoral process. There is no doubt that, currently in Nigeria, the prevalence of premature campaigns raises serious challenges to the preparations and conduct of the 2027 elections, and therefore need to be sanitised urgently.”

He called on lawmakers to ensure that the Electoral Act is amended to make sanctions unambiguous and deterrent. He further proposed that political parties and incumbents should be held directly liable for early campaigns by third-party groups acting in their interest, adding that anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC and ICPC must investigate and prosecute the sources of campaign financing that fuel premature electioneering.

“If we fail to act decisively, premature campaigns will continue to undermine our elections, weaken governance, and make democracy more costly and less credible. The time to fix this is now, before 2027 overtakes us,” Jega warned.

Speaking, INEC Electoral Institute Board Chairman, Prof Abdullahi Zuru, described the trend as a growing abuse of cultural festivals, religious events, philanthropy, and social media platforms to mask early campaigning.

He warned that the consequences of premature campaigns are far-reaching, distorting fairness in the electoral process, raising the cost of political competition, distracting elected officials from governance, and eroding public trust in the system.

Zuru specifically cited the surge of billboards, branded vehicles, skits, songs, and hashtags on social media as evidence of aspirants exploiting digital platforms to gain early advantage.

Lawmaker questions what truly counts as campaign, urges caution
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, has said Nigeria’s election cycles now include off-season elections, which means different elections are conducted each year and politicians are therefore compelled to campaign regularly.

He explained that when opposition parties organise rallies to oppose government policies, such as the removal of fuel subsidy, they are also embarking on early campaigns. He stressed the need, in a democracy, to be clear on what constitutes a violation of campaign laws.

Raising questions for stakeholders, Balogun said: “When the government is commissioning a project, or when a House member is commissioning a constituency project, he starts a campaign. Then, when the opposition organises their own rallies to oppose any programme of the ruling government, it is also a campaign.

“So, we need to really check what we are actually referring to as a campaign. The CSOs, every day, talk about policies of the government, either for or against. The fuel subsidy debate is still on. It is either you support it or you are opposing it. Do we consider this as campaigns?

“Even the American president, up till today, is still talking about his own government. So I think, like I said, this could not have come at a better time. I believe we should dedicate ourselves to this programme to search our minds. Should we still have any law restricting campaigns? Is that what is obtainable in other parts of the world?

“Because if we are not careful, we will still continue to take some of these programmes that we went through during the military regime, where you were given two days, one week to campaign, and after that period, if you were caught, you were jailed. We are in a democracy. The social media space cannot even be controlled and we have to be careful when we make some of these laws.

“Do we say you are campaigning, when you don’t know the people who are doing many posters on your behalf? You see these posters from the airport to wherever you can reach in Abuja today. I am sure, the president, if he sees some of these posters, he will be surprised. So who do you hold liable? Is it the party or the person?

“Because we must be careful so that we do not create a situation where the law will be used to haunt some people. So as I thank the chairman and his team for putting up this programme, I want at the end of the day, we should get a community discussion about whether the law should be there or not.”

Police vow to enforce laws amid concerns on societal impact
On his part, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, raised two queries for stakeholders to deliberate on.

Represented by Abayomi Shogunle, Commissioner of Police in charge of election monitoring, the IGP said: “Do we really need to continue to regulate in 2025 based on the fact that there is a need to bridge the gap between our leaders and the public? That is one.

“Two, every law that is made, we in enforcement have a duty to enforce, and then we need to ask ourselves again, what are the relevance of these laws to issues of society and development? Those are the issues we have to seriously look into.

“Having said that, the Nigeria Police Force will continue to enforce any law that has been duly passed by the Senate, House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly, and we will continue to do everything needed to be done to ensure that campaigns go on peacefully.”