“Conducting All Elections in One Day Not Feasible” – INEC Official Warns

An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised serious concerns over a proposed bill that seeks to mandate the conduct of all major elections in Nigeria on a single day. Speaking anonymously to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, the official cautioned that implementing such a plan could destabilize the country’s electoral process and strain the commission’s operational capacity.

The proposed reform, currently before the National Assembly, is part of the Electoral Act 2025 amendment and has already passed second reading in the House of Representatives. It aims to combine presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives, governorship, and House of Assembly elections into one nationwide exercise. Proponents argue this would reduce costs, minimize vote manipulation and vote-buying, and streamline the electoral process.

The call for single-day elections has gained support from groups like The Patriots, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who advocated for it at a recent summit on Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.

However, the INEC official emphasized that the issue is not about the commission’s capacity but about the practicality and potential consequences of conducting all elections on one day. “What is wrong with the current method?” the official asked. “Will conducting all elections on the same day guarantee a more credible process or change the outcome?”

Citing logistical challenges, the official noted that even with the current structure—where presidential and national assembly elections are conducted first, followed by governorship and state assembly elections—INEC already grapples with significant hurdles. For instance, simultaneous voting in over 176,000 polling units nationwide takes place between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., after which votes are sorted and counted, then collated at ward, local government, and state levels. Final presidential results are presented in person at the National Collation Centre in Abuja by returning officers, before the INEC Chairman declares the winner.

The official warned that adding more elections to this already complex process could overwhelm the system. “Even now, we face serious logistical pressure. Including more elections would only stretch the process to a breaking point,” the official stated, urging lawmakers to consult INEC before pursuing such sweeping reforms.

According to the official, the constitution grants INEC exclusive authority to determine election dates, and any legislative attempt to override that power could be counterproductive. For INEC, the current staggered approach exists for valid operational and legal reasons. “This idea should simply be dropped,” the official concluded.