Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the 2027 federal and state elections on the same day.
Dasuki said a single election day would reduce the financial burden on the government, minimise disruption to economic activities and limit the movement of voters, electoral officials, politicians and security personnel.
The lawmaker made the call at the weekend while receiving youths of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who visited him to congratulate him on his emergence as deputy minority leader.
He urged INEC to consider holding the combined elections in either January or February 2027.
According to Dasuki, conducting the elections on one day would reduce expenses on allowances for ad hoc electoral personnel, security agencies and other logistics required for separate election days.
He also argued that the arrangement would reduce election-related travel, particularly amid the country’s security challenges.
Dasuki said voters and other participants who might otherwise have to travel for federal elections in January and state elections in February would make only one trip under a single-day arrangement.
He said the combined poll would involve five ballot papers for the presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives, governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
The lawmaker maintained that INEC had the capacity to manage the five ballot papers with adequate preparation.
He also noted that the existence of eight off-cycle governorship elections would make the arrangement more practicable because elections would not be held for governor in those states during the 2027 cycle.
Dasuki further called for the removal of Section 63(2) of the Electoral Act, warning that the provision could create a loophole in the handling of ballot papers without the prescribed official mark.
He said the provision could potentially make it difficult to distinguish genuine ballot papers from counterfeit or unauthorised ones.
Section 63(1) provides that a ballot paper without the official mark prescribed by INEC should not be counted, subject to subsection (2).
Under Section 63(2), however, such a ballot paper may still be counted if the returning officer is satisfied that it came from a book of ballot papers supplied to the presiding officer of the polling unit for the election.
Dasuki argued that the provision could expose the electoral process to abuse and said minority lawmakers were working to ensure it was addressed before the 2027 elections.
The lawmaker also commended the recent increase in the salaries of members of the Armed Forces but called for further improvements in their welfare.
He specifically urged the government to provide decent accommodation for military personnel, saying improved living conditions would strengthen their morale and effectiveness.
Dasuki also renewed his call for forfeited properties to be handed over to the military for accommodation and other facilities.
The lawmaker said better welfare for military personnel was particularly important given the demanding security responsibilities they continue to perform across Nigeria.
