Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a former presidential contender, has strongly condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recently published schedule for the 2027 general elections. He argues that the timeline fails to reflect Nigeria’s actual political landscape and is frankly unworkable.
Speaking over the weekend, Olawepo-Hashim emphasized that the electoral calendar leaves political parties insufficient room to organize transparent primaries and internal democratic procedures. He warned that if left unchanged, the tight schedule could escalate political tensions and destabilize parties as the elections draw closer.
The Kwara-born politician also took aim at INEC for scheduling critical political events, such as party primaries, to coincide with major religious observances like the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage and the Ileya festival. “Aligning election primaries with Hajj and Ileya, which inherently come with security and mobility challenges, is completely unreasonable,” he stated.
According to Olawepo-Hashim, these periods already pose significant security and logistical hurdles. Combining them with political activities risks amplifying unrest and triggering avoidable disruptions, he cautioned. He urged INEC to reconsider the timetable to better accommodate Nigeria’s diverse realities.