The new timetable for the 2027 national elections significantly undermines the opposition’s hopes of unseating President Bola Tinubu. On 26 February 2026, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released a new electoral timetable, with presidential and national assembly elections now to be held on 16 January 2027 – a month earlier than the initial 20 February 2027 date. The gubernatorial and state assembly elections have also been rescheduled for 6 February 2027 from 6 March 2027. These changes were made possible by the amendments to the Electoral Act 2022 signed into law by President Tinubu on 18 February 2026. 

While opposition parties and some religious leaders had initially asked INEC to reschedule the elections because the dates clashed with Ramadan – when Muslim citizens will be fasting – the new timetable also compressed other aspects of the timeline in a way that makes it nearly impossible for opposition parties to compete. Specifically, the amended legislation reduced the election notice period to 300 days from the initial 360 days, allowing INEC to reissue the new schedule, 300 days ahead of the new election date. 

INEC is required to conduct the elections no sooner than 150 days and no later than 30 days before the expiry of the tenure of current office holders. The earliest date would therefore be in January, and the latest date would be 29 April 2027. The January 2027 dates give INEC some scope to move the date again in case of a crisis, and they also ensure that the polls do not clash with either the Ramadan fasting month or the Lent period ahead of Easter celebrations. 

Setting the date is a decisive moment in the preparation for the 2027 polls as all parties now need to commence the internal processes to select candidates. This is where the opposition appears to have been completely caught off guard, potentially setting them up for a heavy defeat.