Sam Amadi, director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of bias over the deadline fixed for political party primaries ahead of the 2027 general election.
Amadi spoke on Saturday in Abuja at the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) aspirants’ summit organised by the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement.
The former chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulation Commission, NERC, who declared his intention to run for the Imo state governorship election, criticised INEC’s decision to compel political parties to conclude their primaries by May 30, despite the long gap before the commencement of campaigns.
“INEC is biased,” he said.
“There is no basis to compress primaries at this point when campaigns will take a long time to start.”
Amadi questioned the rationale behind the timeline approved by the electoral commission.
“What is the rationale of forcing parties to finish their primaries by May, even when you have that many months before campaigns begin?” he asked.
“So what would they be doing?”
The policy expert argued that INEC should have extended the timeframe for the conduct of primaries to allow parties organise themselves properly.
“If it was an error, it is a grievous error,” he said.
“I support that INEC should have extended the period for primaries, and that would have enabled the parties to be properly grounded.”
Amadi, however, urged political parties to find a way around the challenge created by the timeline.
“But it is what it is, and I think the parties should do well to overcome that challenge of time,” he added.
