Opposition political parties have warned that worsening insecurity poses a major threat to the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
With about seven months to the polls, the parties cautioned that continued terrorist attacks, banditry, kidnappings and other violent crimes could undermine democratic participation, disenfranchise voters and disrupt the electoral process if the Federal Government fails to restore order.
They argued that unless the security situation improves significantly before the elections, many Nigerians may be unwilling to vote, and that residents of communities displaced by violence could be excluded from the process entirely.
The parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Allied Peoples Movement and Labour Party, accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing to tackle insecurity.
They nonetheless rejected calls for postponement of elections arguing that such a move would amount to surrendering the democratic space to violent groups.
Speaking with Saturday , the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, raised the alarm that scores of communities affected by banditry and terrorist attacks had already been deserted, warning that this would inevitably affect electoral conduct in parts of the country.
He stressed that the Independent National Electoral Commission must begin early planning to determine the scale of the challenge and protect the voting rights of displaced citizens, noting that several communities had been completely emptied by violence.
“The idea that insecurity will affect the conduct of the election in some places is no longer in doubt, but the point is whether INEC will prepare or do due diligence to identify the magnitude of that effect. By now, we expect INEC to be mapping areas that might be affected. There are communities that have been deserted, communities that have been completely emptied — what happens to the people registered to vote there? Would this significantly impact the election in fundamental ways? No doubt insecurity will affect the elections, but INEC needs to do the right thing,” he said.
Abdullahi rejected postponement outright, saying there was no evidence that extending the current administration’s tenure would improve security.
“What is obvious is that they no longer know what to do; they have run out of ideas. If you give them another three years, they will just keep issuing condolence messages and sending emissaries to victims’ families, which is what they have been doing. Postponing the election must be premised on the assurance that government will reduce insecurity to the barest minimum. These are people who have proved completely inept on security. We will not support any call for postponement. We see no evidence that this government would do anything differently even if the election were delayed by a year,” Abdullahi said.
He also accused the ruling APC and the Tinubu administration of politicising insecurity, particularly the abduction of pupils and teachers by bandits in Esinele community, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The PDP factional National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, warned that without security, citizens would not vote, adding that fear of violence was already influencing political participation in parts of the country.
He accused the government of playing politics with security and failing to adopt a whole-of-government approach to tackling the crisis.
“If schools are no longer safe, if children have become sitting ducks to be carried off by bandits and terrorists, then government must adopt a comprehensive security response. In the case of Oyo State, we have not seen the president invite the governor for a meeting or visit the state. The president cannot claim to fully understand the situation without direct engagement. Whether the governor is of the opposition or not should not come into question when discussing security,” he said.
Ememobong also dismissed calls for a postponement, insisting that insecurity must be resolved rather than used to justify delaying democratic processes.
The LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, similarly dismissed calls for postponement, noting that the election timeline was constitutional and non-negotiable.
He said, “There is no need to shift the election. It is timeous and tied to the constitution. Insecurity has always existed and cannot be a basis for altering electoral timelines. It is within the powers of government to put its acts together, but insecurity cannot be completely eliminated anywhere in the world. The security apparatus must up their game. With what happened in Oyo State, it is obvious the insurgents have a plan to distract government and create crisis; politicians have fallen into their trap by politicising it. The election should go ahead in spite of the crisis.”
The NNPP National Secretary, Dipo Olayokun, said the seven months remaining before the 2027 elections were sufficient for any serious government to address the country’s security challenges and create conditions for credible polls.
He accused the Tinubu administration of failing in its primary responsibility of securing lives and property, and challenged the President to demonstrate greater commitment to governance.
He said, “If we have a serious government at the national level, nothing should disrupt the 2027 election. We are in June; the election is seven months away. A government that takes security seriously can get rid of these bad elements within months, so Nigerians can vote without fear. The president must realise that on security, his government has failed woefully. By virtue of the Constitution, only the president has power and control over all security forces; the states are helpless.”
Olayokun called on Tinubu to resign if he was unable to tackle the country’s security challenges and guarantee conditions for a successful 2027 election.
The APM National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, who also chairs the Inter-Party Advisory Council, warned that worsening insecurity threatened not just the 2027 elections but Nigeria’s survival as a nation.
He said Nigerians must first secure the country before discussing elections, adding that the rising wave of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping reflected deeper socio-economic and governance failures requiring urgent national attention.
“We must drop politics. Politics is just a vehicle for party affiliation, but we must have Nigeria before we can talk about elections. Insecurity is not something to apportion blame over. Nigeria is at war with itself. What is the cause of this war? Who is fuelling it? What are their grievances? What do they want?” he said.