By Ibrahim Kegbegbe
As Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 general elections, the political chessboard is shifting rapidly. Yet, beneath the noise of endorsements, alliances and last-minute calculations lies a hard legal truth many aspirants appear to be ignoring: the clock did not start ticking in May—it may have already run out in April.
Today is May 5, 2026. By now, several political parties have either concluded arrangements for their primaries or fixed dates between early May and May 25. Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set May 30, 2026, as the final deadline for submission of candidates’ names.
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At first glance, this May 30 date creates an illusion of time. It suggests that aspirants still have weeks to manoeuvre, defect, or reposition. However, that assumption is undermined by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
The law is unambiguous. Political parties are required to submit their register of members to INEC not later than 30 days before their primaries. This provision, often overlooked in public discourse, is in fact the real deadline that determines political viability.
Let us break it down.
If a party schedules its primary for May 25, its membership register should have been submitted by April 25. If the primary is fixed for May 20, the deadline shifts further back to April 20. Even in the most extreme scenario—where a party pushes its primary to May 30—the register must have been submitted by April 30.
What this means is simple but profound: as of May 5, 2026, the legal window for submitting valid membership registers for most May primaries has effectively closed.
This reality carries serious implications.
First, any political party that has not complied with this requirement is already operating in a legally fragile space. Its processes risk rejection by INEC or, more dangerously, nullification by the courts if challenged.
Second—and more crucially for individuals—any aspirant still contemplating defection at this stage may already be too late.
To validly contest under a new party, an aspirant must:
Be a registered member of that party
Have their name included in the party’s submitted membership register
Participate in the party’s primary
If the register has already been submitted—as the law requires—then a late defector does not exist, legally speaking, within that party’s structure.
The political class often relies on last-minute negotiations, waivers, and backdoor arrangements. But electoral law is less forgiving. Courts have repeatedly emphasised compliance over convenience.
Yes, there may be rare exceptions—parties that delay their primaries or bend internal rules—but such paths are fraught with legal uncertainty. Victories secured through procedural shortcuts are often the easiest to overturn.
The uncomfortable truth, therefore, is this:
The real deadline for meaningful political movement was not May—it was April.
As Nigeria approaches another critical election cycle, aspirants must understand that timing is not just strategic—it is legal. And in electoral matters, legality is everything.
For those still sitting on the fence as of today, May 5, the message is stark:
You may not just be late—you may already be out of time.
Ibrahim Taofeek Kegbegbe is a Lagos-based journalist and a public affairs analyst.
