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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has raised the alarm over an alleged plot to use the Ebola outbreak to shift the January 16, 2027 presidential election, warning President Bola Tinubu against exploiting the public health emergency to extend his administration’s tenure.
The council alleged that pressure was being mounted on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to alter the election timetable, despite assurances by health authorities that the outbreak did not warrant postponement of the polls.
In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the campaign council claimed it had received information about plans to summon INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to the Presidential Villa, where he would allegedly be instructed to change the election date.
The council, however, provided no documentary evidence to substantiate the allegation.
“The ADC Presidential Campaign Council warns that reports of pressure on INEC to shift the 16 January presidential election, just 80 days away, cannot 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,” Shaibu said.
He urged Amupitan to resist any attempt to interfere with the electoral timetable and make public any pressure brought to bear on the commission.
“The Council has received information that the INEC Chairman is 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.”
The council maintained that Nigerians had endured severe economic hardship and should not be denied the opportunity to pass judgment on the administration through the ballot box.
“Nigerians have endured three and a half years of soaring prices, shrinking incomes and relentless hardship. They have the right to judge this government at the ballot box on 16 January. A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgment.”
While acknowledging the seriousness of the Ebola outbreak, the council insisted that public health concerns should be addressed through appropriate preventive measures rather than a change in the electoral timetable.
“Ebola is a serious public health concern. Health professionals must be free to contain it, and INEC must take every necessary step to protect voters and election workers. The NCDC Director General has said there is currently no reason to postpone the election. That position must not be twisted into a political excuse for delay.”
Shaibu called on domestic and international election observers to monitor developments, insisting that any proposal to alter the timetable must be backed by credible scientific evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.
“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.”
However, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr Jide Idris, had on Monday dismissed suggestions that the Ebola outbreak currently posed sufficient danger to warrant postponement of the 2027 general election, although he acknowledged that a major escalation could necessitate a fresh public health assessment.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Idris said: “We hope not, because if the thing gets wide enough, there might be concern. As of now, there is no need for that.”
He also rejected suggestions that the outbreak could be exploited for political purposes, declaring: “We in the health sector will not use disease issues as a political weapon.”
Idris explained that any decision concerning the election timetable was beyond his authority, while assuring Nigerians that health officials were intensifying surveillance, contact tracing and other containment measures.
Similarly, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, had assured Nigerians that there was no scientific justification for suspending political campaigns, conferences or other large public gatherings.
“At this moment, there is no indication that requires us to alter the course of large gatherings that have been planned,” Pate said during a briefing in Abuja.
“But if the situation changes, we’ll make a determination. We’ll consult broadly with the right experts and make that determination.”
The minister said there was no evidence of community transmission and stressed that any future restrictions would be guided by scientific evidence rather than political considerations.
