The elections were held ahead of schedule following the early dissolution of parliament. This was reportedly done in order to "choose a Parliament that would reinforce the "new order" of economic reform and public probity advocated by the new President", Joseph Saidu Momoh.[1]
Since the 1982 elections the parliament had been enlarged from 104 to 127 members, with an additional 20 elected MPs and a further three presidential appointees. The APC nominated 335 candidates to contest the elections, which had been due to be held on 15 and 16 May.[1] There were around 2 million registered voters.