Bamidele urges restraint as parties prepare for Nigeria’s 2027 elections

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has warned politicians against inflammatory rhetoric and actions capable of threatening Nigeria’s peace ahead of the 2027 general elections. Bamidele, who chairs the South-West Caucus in the National Assembly, made the call in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary. He acknowledged the right of political actors to participate in democratic contests but said that freedom had to be exercised within the Electoral Act, 2026, and the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The Ekiti lawmaker specifically cautioned parties and candidates against hate speech, provocative comments and conduct capable of triggering political unrest or ethno-religious violence before, during or after the elections. “The exercise of political rights at this defining moment should be guided by the rules of the electoral contest and not by the rules of the jungle,” Bamidele said. He added that every political aspiration was legitimate in a democracy but should be pursued with decorum, patriotism and restraint.

“No ambition is worth setting the nation ablaze,” he said, urging political parties to conduct their campaigns lawfully as they present their programmes across the federation. Bamidele said Nigeria’s independence anniversary should remind political leaders that the country was a shared heritage whose unity and democratic institutions must be protected. He urged politicians to place national interests above personal and partisan ambitions.

His warning comes as parties and prospective candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 elections. The source material also refers to reports of intimidation and political thuggery in some parts of the country, fuelling concerns about the conduct of the electioneering period.