The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has warned against using the Ebola outbreak as an excuse to postpone the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
The council alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was planning to push for a change in the election date.
In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, the party urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resist any pressure to postpone the election.
The council alleged that INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, might be summoned to the Presidential Villa and asked to change the election timetable.
It called on President Bola Tinubu to abandon any such plan and urged the INEC chairman to reject any instruction to change the date. It also asked him to make any attempt to influence the election timetable public.
The ADC council said Nigerians had faced high prices, falling incomes and economic hardship over the past three and a half years. It argued that voters should be allowed to decide the government’s performance through the ballot box on January 16.
The council, however, acknowledged that Ebola was a serious public health concern and said health authorities should be allowed to take the necessary steps to contain the disease.
It also urged INEC to put measures in place to protect voters and election workers during the poll.
According to the council, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had said there was currently no reason to postpone the election over Ebola.
It warned against turning the health situation into a political excuse to delay the poll.
The ADC council also called on INEC, local election observers and international monitors to ensure that any proposal to change the election date was made publicly and supported by published health evidence.
It insisted that any decision to alter the timetable must be open to public scrutiny, adding that the Presidency must not use a health emergency to avoid facing voters.