(Sumner Sambo. Photo by Journalist.net)
Public affairs analyst Sumner Sambo has criticized the presidency for what he described as a failure to exercise proper diligence before signing the 2026 Electoral Act, arguing that the hasty approach has contributed to the current electoral complications facing the country.
Sambo made these remarks on Thursday during an interview that was widely shared online, where he was responding to a Federal High Court ruling that struck down key sections of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) electoral timetable ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
He questioned why INEC appeared to be in such a hurry, pointing out that there was sufficient time available to carefully study and understand the provisions of the Act before acting on them.
According to him, the president signed the Electoral Act without allowing his team adequate time to thoroughly review its contents, and that the constitutional and legislative provisions involved were clear enough to have been properly understood before any decisions were made.
Sambo further questioned the logic behind INEC’s adjusted deadlines, noting that if the law requires political parties to submit their candidates and credentials at least 120 days before an election scheduled for January 16, the appropriate deadline should have fallen around September not May as reportedly proposed.
He pointed out that the months between May and September still provide ample time, and questioned the rationale behind compressing the timeline.
He suggested that part of the problem may stem from the National Assembly’s delay in passing the Electoral Act, noting that ideally it should have been enacted by December 2025 to give INEC enough lead time to plan its operations effectively.
