Electoral Act 2026: Presidency, APC fire back as ADC, NNPP kick.
The parties claiming to be speaking for opposition parties said Electoral Act 2026 was skewed by the APC.
They vowed to resist the law through all lawful means.
They spoke at a news conference attended by leading opposition figures, such former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former governors Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi and Rauf Aregbesola.
There was drama at the news conference as Taminu Turaki, leader of the PDP faction still battling for recognition in court, was disallowed from reading the text of the news conference.
He became unhappy and left the venue when he was told that his version was not recognised by law at least for now”
The statement was then read by NNPP chairman Dr. Ahmed Ajuji.
He said: “We consider several provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 signed into law with such contemptuous haste by President Tinubu as a major offensive by the APC administration to subvert the will of the people in the 2027 general elections.
“We therefore, state unequivocally that the new Electoral Act is anti-democratic, and its implementation will undermine electoral transparency and sanctity of the ballot which are fundamental to free, fair and credible elections and the bedrock of participatory democracy.”
“The introduction of the proviso in Section 60(3), which allows wide and undefined discretionary powers to the presiding officer, overrides and negates the purpose of introducing electronic transmission of election results from polling units.
“This negation is unambiguously intended to provide a blank check to those who seek to manipulate election results by delaying the electronic transmission of results from the polling units to the IREV on the pretext of network failure.
“The premise of the proviso in Section 60(3) is the unavailability or possibility of network failure. We find this premise dubious and inconsistent with reality. The immediate past INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, stated on record that the BVAS equipment, which operates offline, had worked with over 90% success rate across the nation, and in the event of network failure at the point of transmission, the transmitted results would be delivered successfully whenever network is available.”
Rejecting the position of the opposition parties, the Presidency said: “Some prominent opposition figures, led by the ADC and NNPP, gathered in Abuja today and made reckless, spurious allegations against President Bola Tinubu and the APC-led Federal Government.
“The opposition, particularly the ADC, has turned irresponsible political statements into an art form, all in a bid to attract cheap headlines and mislead the public.
“Working in cahoots with some civil society groups, the opposition has waged a relentless war of disinformation against the National Assembly and the administration, making false allegations in a bid to impose their will on Nigerians and the legislature, the arm of government constitutionally empowered to make laws for the country’s good governance.
“In response to the realities of our country, the National Assembly enacted an amendment to the Electoral Act that allows for the real-time transmission of election results and the use of Form EC8A as a backup in the event of network failure.
“The opposition’s claim that Form EC8A creates a loophole for manipulation is illogical and a needless tantrum by those who should know better.
“Any reasonable Nigerian understands that network glitches are a real issue. The 2026 Electoral Act does not prohibit real-time transmission; it simply stipulates that if transmission fails, the result recorded on Form EC8A shall be deemed valid.
“Moreover, the role of IReV (INEC Results Viewing Portal) must not be misunderstood by the opposition. IReV is not a collation centre; it is a platform for uploading results for public viewing. The primary source for validating election results remains Form EC8A.
“During their press conference, opposition parties also rejected the use of direct primaries as a means of selecting party candidates.
“We find it perplexing why the opposition is crying over the inclusion of direct primaries and consensus voting, rather than the corrupt delegate system they prefer.
“The opposition should be grateful to the National Assembly for removing delegate-based primaries and restoring party ownership to its members.
“No aspirant should fear participation by party members in the primaries. This is how candidates are picked by party members in the United States, where we borrowed the presidential system of government.
“The opposition’s claim that the National Assembly ignored Nigerians’ wishes is a total falsehood. The NASS did not ignore the public. For two years, according to the Senate majority leader, the NASS listened to various stakeholders, technical experts, and millions of Nigerians who expressed their views on the risk of technical failure that could invalidate the entire election.
“A recurring refrain from the disorganised opposition is the false allegation that President Tinubu aims to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
“Such cheap shots reveal their hollowness and lack of reason. Nigeria is a vibrant multiparty democracy, with more than a dozen registered parties, including ADC and NNPP.
“The opposition should stop exaggerating the effects of the new Electoral Act. Their inability to organise and their tendency to blame others for their own disorganisation and unpreparedness are evident. President Tinubu is a democrat—an opposition leader who, alongside like-minded individuals, led the charge to defeat the PDP in 2015.
“Contrary to their deliberate misinformation designed to incite the populace, the new Electoral Act, signed by President Tinubu, is a significant improvement over the repealed law, closing loopholes the opposition leaders sought to exploit for manipulation.
“In summary, the opposition is merely crying foul because the rules of the game have been adjusted to prevent manipulation, such as result hacking, which they have allegedly perfected.
“Rather than this constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage, ADC and NNPP leaders should spend more time on introspection and fix their own mess.”
The ruling party said the rejection of the law is laughable, adding that opposition parties are chasing shadows.
APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru said opposition parties are not ready for elections, stressing that their resistance is feeble and illogical.
Also, the National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the fears expressed by the opposition figures are unfolded.
He said opposition leaders only chose to play to the gallery despite knowing that internet connectivity is a challenge in the country.
The law is work in progress, says House of Reps
House of Representatives Deputy Spokesman, Phillip Agbese (APC Benue), said the call by the opposition parties for the review of the law by the National Assembly is legitimate.
He said law is a work in progress.
House of Representatives Spokesman Akintunde Rotimi said the quest for the amendment of the new law by some Nigerians is not wrong.
But he clarified that such an amendment must come through a proper amendment bill.
Rotimi said: “There is nothing improper about a bloc of the opposition caucus seeking to amend the Electoral Act 2026. Legislation is not static. Even within the same Assembly, a law can be refined through a properly introduced amendment bill that follows the full legislative process.
“That said, any amendment to the Electoral Act must be driven solely by the need to strengthen transparency, credibility, and public confidence in our elections, not partisan considerations.
“The provisions of the extant Act were the product of broad engagement and bipartisan collaboration across the National Assembly, reflecting contributions from both ruling and opposition members.”
He added: “The Independent National Electoral Commission must also operate with a reasonable degree of predictability and administrative stability ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Late-stage amendments introduce avoidable complexity into planning, logistics, training, procurement, and voter education. I therefore doubt very much that any proposals to amend the Act would receive the requisite bipartisan support.”
Comments
Post a Comment