An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that conducting all elections in Nigeria on a single day is not practical and could harm the country’s electoral system.
The official, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, asked the National Assembly to drop the bill that proposes holding all five major elections, presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives, governorship, and state assembly, on the same day.
“It’s about the practicality of the concept. What is wrong with the current method? Will conducting all elections the same day guarantee credibility? Will it produce a different outcome?” the INEC official said.
The proposal is part of the Electoral Act 2025, which has passed second reading in the House of Representatives. Supporters of the bill argue that holding all elections on one day would reduce vote-buying, cut costs, and make the process faster.
A group of elder statesmen called The Patriots, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, also supported the idea during a recent summit on Nigeria’s democracy.
But the INEC official warned that such a change would overwhelm the electoral system.
“Even as things stand now, the commission is still finding it challenging to deal with the logistics,” the official explained.
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The official noted that on presidential and national assembly election days, voting takes place in over 176,000 polling units across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m..
After voting, INEC must sort and count ballot papers, collate results at the ward, local government, and state levels, and then send the final results to the National Collation Centre in Abuja, where only the INEC Chairman can announce the presidential election result.
“Just imagine, for a moment, what all that entails. Adding the burden of other elections will only make things worse,” the official said.
The official also questioned whether lawmakers consulted INEC before drafting the bill.
“Did the lawmakers seek INEC’s opinion before embarking on this move? The constitution gives INEC the power to set election dates. That power should not be undermined,” the official asked.