Nigeria’s House of Representatives is considering a constitutional amendment that would consolidate all elections in the country into a single day, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas has announced.
Under the current system, presidential and national assembly elections are held simultaneously, while governorship and state assembly polls take place on a separate date. Abbas said combining all four categories of elections into one exercise would increase voter participation and enhance the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process.
The Speaker disclosed the proposal while receiving a European Union delegation in Abuja, describing it as part of a broader package of electoral reforms currently under consideration by lawmakers.
“Like the single-day election, it is to hold the election of the president, national assembly membership, governorship and state house of assembly membership elections on the same day,” Abbas explained. “In our own thinking, it will help to reduce our electoral process, particularly on the turnout of voters.”
The proposed reforms extend beyond the electoral calendar. Other measures being reviewed include the creation of reserved seats for women and persons with disabilities, granting financial autonomy and clearly defined roles to traditional rulers, and streamlining the overall election timeline.
Abbas called on the EU to support advocacy and public awareness campaigns for the reforms, emphasizing that constitutional amendments require approval from state assemblies across the federation before they can become law.
The Speaker expressed confidence that the reforms would equip the Independent National Electoral Commission with the necessary tools to deliver better elections. “We will do all the needful as far as legislation is concerned to enable INEC to have all the necessary tools and provisions to make the 2027 election much better than the 2023 election,” he stated.
The national assembly is expected to vote on a series of constitutional alteration bills this month. However, previous efforts to introduce same-day elections in Nigeria have repeatedly failed to gain the required legislative and state-level support.
