Ordinary Nigerians on the streets of Abuja have mixed feelings about a fresh push in the House of Representatives to run presidential, governorship, and legislative elections all on the same day. This proposal, part of wider efforts to fix Nigeria’s voting system, has sparked talks about how it might change the way people vote and what it means for the 2027 polls.
Nana, a trader who has voted in past elections, worries it could make things harder for everyone. “If the presidential election, governorship election and other elections is being held in a day, it will slow down the voting process and as well cause confusion within the voters and it will take a lot of time due to the fact that Nigeria is a populated country and a lot of people don’t know how to vote you have to put them through and it will really stress people a lot,” she said during a chat organised by Fairview Africa.
Abdullahi Mohammed, another resident who spoke to the group, shares her concern over the chaos it might bring. “I don’t think it’s a good idea because it will not be convenient for us and it will bring a lot of confusion,” he added.
But not everyone sees it that way. Sam, a young driver, thinks it could clean up the process. “It’s a good development because the politicians we no have that time to rig the election is a good idea and I support it,” he said.
These views from the streets come at a time when the House of Representatives is looking hard at ways to make elections smoother. Speaker Tajudeen Abbas first raised the idea during a meeting with a delegation from the European Union in Abuja last Thursday. He explained that putting the presidential, governorship, National Assembly, and State House of Assembly elections on one day would help make the system work better, cut down on spending, and get more people to show up at polling units.
Nigeria’s elections have long been spread out over weeks, a setup that started under the 1999 Constitution to let the Independent National Electoral Commission focus on one set of races at a time. But this has often led to drawn-out campaigns that build up tension and wear out voters. In the 2023 general elections, for example, only 26.72 percent of registered voters turned out for the presidential and National Assembly polls, with just 24.9 million out of 93.5 million eligible people casting ballots.
That figure marked one of the lowest turnouts in recent history, down from an average of about 46 per cent across past votes.<
Supporters of the one-day plan say it could fix this by shortening the whole process and easing the strain on security and logistics.
The cost of running elections has also been a big issue. For the 2023 polls, the federal government handed over N313.4 billion to INEC to cover everything from ballot papers to staff payments.<
Backers of the reform argue that squeezing all races into one day would trim these expenses, as INEC would not need to move materials and personnel multiple times across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Abbas made it clear during the EU meeting that the House sees this as a key step to build trust in the system. “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,” he said. He added, “In our own thinking, it will help to reduce our electoral process, particularly on the turnout of voters.”
This is not the first time the National Assembly has tried to make this change. Past efforts in earlier sessions ran into roadblocks, with bills failing to pass due to disagreements over how it might affect smaller parties or increase risks of violence on a single busy day. In 2025 alone, lawmakers like Hon. Abdulaziz Yar’adua and Hon. Francis Ejiroghene Waive have tabled similar amendments to the Electoral Act 2022, aiming to set up early voting for key workers and tighten timelines. But those pushes have not gone through yet.
The current drive sits within a larger set of changes the House is working on through amendments to the 1999 Constitution. These include setting aside seats for women and persons with disabilities in the National Assembly, giving financial independence and clear duties to traditional rulers, and making sure all national elections happen on one day. The House plans to vote on these alteration bills this month, after resuming plenary on Tuesday, October 7, 2025.
Speaker Abbas has put electoral and security bills at the top of the agenda, with the Reserved Seats Bill for Women and the State Police Bill also in line for quick action.
Abbas called on the EU team to help spread the word and push for backing. He stressed that state assemblies across the country must also approve the changes for them to take effect. “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 told the delegation.
As the National Assembly moves ahead, voices like Nana’s, Abdullahi’s, and Sam’s show how the plan touches everyday lives. With Nigeria’s population now over 225 million and growing numbers of first-time voters, getting the balance right between speed and smoothness will matter a lot.
The reforms aim to tackle old problems like low participation and high costs, but whether they win over more people on the ground remains to be seen.
