Nigeria’s registered political parties have faulted the conduct of the recently concluded primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing the exercise as flawed and calling for urgent reforms to the country’s electoral legal framework.
The parties, under the umbrella of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said the nomination process exposed serious legal and operational challenges that undermined the credibility of the exercise and created avoidable disputes across party lines.
Speaking at the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Second Quarterly Consultative Meeting with political party leaders in Abuja, IPAC National Chairman, Dr. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said the primaries highlighted critical gaps in the Electoral Act 2026.
He said the challenges were largely linked to provisions that removed indirect primaries as a valid mode of selecting candidates for elections.
According to him, while the law was designed to strengthen internal democracy within political parties, its implementation produced unintended consequences that disrupted nomination processes nationwide.
“The nomination exercise which officially concluded on Saturday, May 30, 2026, exposed significant legal, administrative, and operational challenges that deserve urgent national attention,” Dantalle said.
He described the exercise as a “charade,” adding that political parties encountered significant difficulties in managing the direct primary system as required by law.
Dantalle noted that the removal of indirect primaries placed excessive administrative and financial burdens on political parties, contributing to internal disputes and logistical bottlenecks during candidate selection.
The IPAC chairman said the experiences of political parties during the exercise had made it clear that further reforms to the electoral framework were necessary to ensure a more workable and credible nomination process ahead of future elections.
The controversy surrounding the primaries has reignited the debate over direct versus indirect primary systems in Nigeria’s political space.
While proponents of direct primaries argue that the system promotes internal democracy by giving party members greater participation in candidate selection, critics say it is costly, complex and difficult to manage, especially for parties with large national structures.
Analysts say disputes arising from party primaries remain a major source of pre-election litigation in Nigeria, often leading to prolonged court cases and internal party instability.
Tuesday’s meeting between INEC and political parties was part of ongoing consultations aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s electoral process and reviewing the conduct of political activities ahead of future elections.
IPAC, while acknowledging the efforts of INEC and other stakeholders, insisted that the issues raised during the 2027 primaries must be urgently addressed to prevent a repeat of the challenges.
The council urged the National Assembly, INEC and political stakeholders to collaborate on reforms that would balance internal party democracy with practical, efficient and transparent nomination processes.
It warned that failure to address the identified gaps could undermine confidence in future elections and weaken Nigeria’s democratic process.
As discussions on electoral reform continue, the position of political parties is expected to shape ongoing national conversations on improving the country’s electoral system ahead of subsequent polls.
