Why We’ve Not Named Our Campaign Teams – SDP, NNPP, ADC, Others

By  Ademu Idakwo, James Kwen and Helen Onyemowo Foster, Abuja

Despite the launch of campaigns for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, major opposition parties, including the Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Labour Party (LP), have yet to unveil their full campaign teams.

The parties attribute the delay to strategic planning, funding, consultations and the need to select widely acceptable personnel.

The development comes barely three days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially opened the campaign window for the presidential and National Assembly elections on 19 August 2026.

According to the timetable and schedule of activities released by INEC, political parties are permitted to commence public campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections from 19 August, with the elections scheduled for 16 January 2027.

However, despite the campaign period having commenced, several opposition parties have yet to name their directors-general and other members of their presidential campaign councils.

The national chairman of the NNPP, Agbo Major, said the party would soon unveil its campaign programme for its presidential and National Assembly candidates.

Speaking in an interview with LEADERSHIP Sunday in Abuja on Thursday, Major said the delay was deliberate, particularly because smaller political parties faced significant financial and logistical constraints.

He said sustaining an active campaign over the entire campaign period required careful planning and substantial resources, which smaller parties could not afford to deploy from the first day.

According to him, the NNPP would initially launch campaigns for its National Assembly candidates before they proceed to their respective constituencies.

On the choice of a campaign Director-General, Major said the party would prioritise wide acceptability, a strong political track record, integrity and knowledge of local politics.

He said the DG must be acceptable to candidates and party members alike, adding that although some names were under consideration, the party would not disclose them until the structure was ready.

Major also said the NNPP would place young people and women at the centre of its campaign mobilisation strategy.

“Our party belongs to the youths and women. They are central in what we are doing,” he said.

Similarly, the SDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, said the party would unveil the full complement of its national campaign structure in the next few days.

Aiyenigba said that although INEC had provided a campaign window of several months, no political party had the capacity to sustain intensive campaigning throughout that period.

He said the SDP had been engaged in mobilisation activities for several months and that the formal campaign structure would consolidate the groundwork already completed.

According to him, the SDP presidential candidate had been engaging grassroots communities across the North and South.

Regarding the selection of the campaign Director-General, Aiyenigba said the party would consider political clout, experience, visibility, social capital and a national outlook.

“The DG must be someone with name recognition who can attract people to buy into the project,” he said.

He said the choice would be made jointly by the presidential candidate, his running mate and the National Working Committee, adding that several names were being considered but would not be announced until the campaign structure was ready.

For the ADC, the party has yet to disclose when it will unveil its campaign structure or who it is considering for the Director-General position.

When contacted by LEADERSHIP Sunday and asked when the party would constitute its campaign team, what was responsible for the delay, and who it was considering for the position of DG, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, declined to provide details.

“We will let you know when I have information,” Abdullahi said.

The Labour Party is also among the opposition parties still finalising its presidential campaign structure.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ken Asogwa, told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the LP would unveil its presidential campaign structure within the next couple of days.

Asogwa said the presidential candidate and the party leadership were fine-tuning the organogram for the presidential campaign.

He added that while National Assembly candidates were already driving campaigns at the state level, the national structure was awaiting final touches.

On the criteria for selecting the campaign DG, Asogwa said the person must be grounded in political salesmanship and possess the capacity and experience to market the presidential candidate to Nigerians.

He described the DG as the “salesman for the project” who must be able to drive the campaign effectively, but declined to disclose the names under consideration.

Asogwa said the LP campaign would be anchored on young people, noting that the party’s presidential candidate was the youngest among the major contenders and enjoyed wide national appeal.

The delay in unveiling the campaign teams also comes against the backdrop of the financial requirements of running presidential campaigns nationwide.

The Electoral Act 2026 places limits on election expenditure and political contributions. Section 92(2) provides that “The maximum election expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall not exceed N10,000,000,000.”

Section 92(8) further provides: “Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this Act, an individual or other entity shall not donate to a candidate more than N500,000,000.”

The law also requires political parties to account for their election expenditure. Section 93(3) provides that election expenses of a political party shall be submitted to the Commission in a separate audited return within six months after the election.

Section 93(5) further requires the return to show the amount spent by or on behalf of the party on election expenses, the items of expenditure and the commercial value of goods and services received for election purposes.

A Bauchi-based political communication expert, Dr Abubakar Al-Sadique, said the delay could partly be explained by the need to reduce campaign expenditure.

Speaking in a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP Sunday, Al-Sadique said presidential campaigns required enormous resources, particularly when candidates were expected to tour the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“A candidate jostling for the presidency may require a month to tour 36 states and the FCT, campaigning. They would rather wait until around October to November to start open campaigns. Also, the candidates who won tickets have not reconciled with other defeated contestants,” he said.

Under Section 98(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, public campaigning commences 150 days before polling day and ends 24 hours before the election.