Presidency Dismisses Alleged Plot to Postpone January 16 Election as Reps Summon INEC

The Presidency has dismissed allegations that the Federal Government is planning to shift the January 16 election, describing the claim as fake news, while the House of Representatives has resolved to summon the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to brief lawmakers on its preparedness for the 2027 general elections.

 

The denial followed an allegation by the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) that there was a plot to pressure INEC into changing the election date.

 

Reacting to the claim, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the Federal Government was unaware of any plan to postpone the election.

 

“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.

 

However, the ADC-PCC claimed it had received information that INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, would be summoned to the Presidential Villa and instructed to alter the election timetable, with about 80 days remaining before the poll.

 

In a statement issued by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the council urged President Bola Tinubu to abandon any such move and called on Amupitan to reject any instruction to change the date and publicly disclose any attempt to pressure the commission.

 

“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” the council said.

 

The campaign council argued that Nigerians who had endured years of rising prices, shrinking incomes and economic hardship should be allowed to assess the Tinubu administration through the ballot box.

 

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

 

While acknowledging Ebola as a serious public health concern, the council maintained that health professionals should be allowed to contain the disease, while INEC takes the necessary steps to protect voters and election workers.

 

It also cited the position of the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), claiming that there was no current justification for postponing the election.

 

The council urged INEC, domestic observers and international election monitors to scrutinise any proposal to change the timetable, insisting that such a move 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,” it said