By Olusegun Samuel Precious
The race for Nigeria’s government houses and state parliaments officially intensified today, Wednesday, September 9, 2026, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially lifted the ban on public campaigns for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
According to the official INEC timetable, this opens a 150-day campaign window mandated under Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act 2026. Political activities will remain legally permissible until exactly 24 hours before voters head to the polls.
Today’s developmental shift follows the commencement of Presidential and National Assembly campaigns, which kicked off earlier on August 19, 2026.
The foundational dates for the 2027 general elections are now locked in:
- Presidential & National Assembly Elections: Saturday, January 16, 2027
- Governorship & State Assembly Elections: Saturday, February 6, 2027
The Battle for 28 States
While state assembly elections will proceed nationwide, governorship contests will only take place in 28 states.
Eight states are explicitly excluded from the upcoming gubernatorial cycle due to their off-season schedules.
Major political heavyweights, including the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the emerging Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC)—which is currently battling internal finance disputes—have successfully fielded candidates across the contesting states.
Despite the legal green light, indications on the ground suggest a slow start for the political parties. Nearly three weeks after presidential campaigns were cleared to begin, several major parties have yet to fully inaugurate their national or state campaign councils. Insiders attribute the delays to unresolved internal friction, zoning disputes, and a wave of pending pre-election court cases.
In a warning issued alongside the campaign opening, INEC cautioned all political parties and their candidates to stick strictly to the gazetted timetable. The electoral umpire strongly warned against the use of state apparatus to suppress opponents, demanding that all campaigns remain strictly issue-based and entirely devoid of hate speech, profiling, or personal abuse.
