Electoral Law According to the APC Signed, Sealed, Delivered

• Tinubu declares amendment not about politics, but process  

•Akpabio: Electoral Act amendment will ensure every vote counts, end results manipulation

• Abbas: Presidential, NASS polls to now hold Jan. 2027  

•ADC mocks APC, says party afraid of free, fair, polls 

•PDP: It’s treacherous betrayal of Nigerians

Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Sunday Aborisade in Abuja and Sunday Ehigiator in Lagos

The amendment of the Electoral Act was officially completed yesterday, as President Bola Tinubu signed into law the 2022 Electoral Act Amendment Bill. Despite a groundswell of public outcry and bold antagonism by various interests, Tinubu rose stoutly in defence of the controversial bill, as he assented to it.

The president, who spoke at a brief ceremony in his office at State House, during which he gave his assent for the bill to become an Act, submitted that after every election cycle, “We owe Nigerians an honest look at what worked and what must work better.

“That is how serious democracies behave, and our laws must grow with experience.”

He emphasised that the country’s laws must grow with experience by closing gaps and strengthening procedures.

He stated, “Today, I signed the final amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act into law. These amendments are not about politics. They are about process.

“They are about closing gaps, strengthening procedures, and providing greater clarity to those who conduct and participate in our elections.

“When citizens walk into a polling unit, they must do so with confidence. When results are declared, they must be trusted. That confidence is built deliberately, and not by chance.”

He added, “I sincerely thank the National Assembly for its cooperation and sense of national responsibility in bringing this process to a successful conclusion.

“Our responsibility remains to keep improving the system so that the people’s will is expressed clearly, peacefully, and credibly. The work of strengthening our democracy continues, and we shall not relent.”

Speaking with newsmen after the ceremony, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) would ensure that every Nigerian vote counted.

Akpabio said, “At the end, Nigerians will benefit a lot from future elections. Every vote will now count.”

He stressed that the federal lawmakers did a thorough job that would stand the test of time.                                       

According to him, “A lot of provisions in the amended act will definitely make Nigerians very happy. We did a very thorough job, very painstaking. We took cognizance of the peculiarities of the country.

“We didn’t allow too much outside interference, and we’re very patriotic in our submissions, and at the end, we believe strongly that what the president has just assented into act of parliament will make for a better election in the future.

“It will also lead to prosperity and will also lead to transparency of the electoral process. At the end, Nigerians will benefit a lot from future elections, every vote will now count.”           

Akpabio said the agitation by Nigerians for mandatory electronic transmission of results was accommodated in the new Act.        

He stated, “Well, I think all Nigerians wanted was that in the IRev portal, which is a kind of viewing centre of the outcome of most of the polling unit results that they would like to see that transmitted electronically.

“We have included that in the amendment that has just been signed into act of parliament. But we also took cognisance of areas where there may not be any network, where there may not be communication capacities and availability.

“And we said, since the polling unit result comes in from ECA, which is signed by the presiding officer, signed by the agents, and signed in the presence of security agents, copies are given to all. Then we can use that as the primary source of collation at that unit.”

Akpabio said, “And then, of course, we transmit it, even if there is no network at that time, once we step out of there, maybe towards the ward centre or the local government centre, it will drop into the IRev and people will still be able to view.                                                                  

“The implication of that is that if what is eventually collated at the next centre is different from what is in the IRev, Nigerians will be able to compare whether the election result had been tampered with.

“And for us, that had always been the problem in the country, that once election result leaves a polling unit, it will be tampered with or mutilated, that has been eliminated today.

“So we are satisfied that we have met the aspiration of Nigerians that the issue of real time also comes in once you transmit, even if there is no network at that time, once you go to where there is network, it will still drop.”

The senate president stressed, “So eventually everything will still be shown. We are happy and satisfied that we have been able to interpret the intentions and the yearnings of majority of Nigerians, not those who are politically motivated.

“And I always say, no matter what we did in the last two years, we went to retreat in Lagos, we went to retreat, everywhere. Those things were just mere consultations, the final outcome of what was amended happens in the plenaries of both chambers.

“And we felt in the last one month that we have done a lot, and we, even the senate, for instance, we sacrificed even the holidays.”

Akpabio  disclosed, “The speaker of the House of Representatives had to call back members who were on a bit of a break from plenaries, from budget sessions, to come back and undertake this all important national assignment.

“That’s why I said we are very satisfied that going forward, we are going to have more transparent election. This has never happened since 1960. We have never had electronic transmission of result in any of our laws.

“We never even recognise the IRev in the 2022 Act. All those things are now there, and at the end of the day, more powers are given to political parties that they should decide who their candidates are.

“Above all, participatory democracy, more inclusiveness. Members of different political parties are now allowed to do direct primaries. That means you can choose the person you want during delegate selection.

“Of course, one person can write the list and then just submit, but this time around, the members who are in the political party will stand up and vote for their candidates and the candidates of their choices.”

Akpabio  explained, “And, of course, there are others you need to read, because if I stay here to tell you everything, it will lead to controversy again in the social media.

“Because I can tell you that some people don’t understand that it is not even good that in an election, you have five people contesting, one person scores, out of 300,000 votes, one person scores 290,000 and then, for one reason or the other, he’s disqualified by the court, and then the person who scored 1,000, who is not popularly elected, will now be declared a winner.

“All those things are eliminated. We have now recommended that where such a case happens, then they should call for another election, and that also comes even with the governor’s election, where somebody who scores the second highest vote may not meet the 2/3 of the spread of the requirements in local government and to be declared a winner.

“No, we don’t want that kind of situation. We want something that will help Nigerians to truly elect their leaders.”

Tinubu had also stated, “The essence of democracy is to have very solid brainstorming discussions committed to national development, nation-building, and the stability of the nation.

“It is time that we have confidence in our system. No matter how good the system is, it’s managed by the people, promoted by the people, and the people finalise the results.”

Speaking on the “controversy” preceding the passage of the new electoral law, Tinubu affirmed that humans still had a significant role to play in finalising results, as computers could not do everything, given that many aspects of the voting process were still largely manual.

He stated, “And when you look at the crux of various arguments, maybe Nigerians should question our broadband capability. How technically sound are we today? How technically sound will we be tomorrow in answering the call, whether in real time or not?

“And as long as you appear personally as a manual voter in any polling booth, a ballot paper is given to you manually. You decide in a corner and fingerprint the person you choose. You cast your vote without hindrance or interference.

“Ballots are subsequently counted manually. It’s just the arithmetic accuracy that is entered into it from easy thinking. It is still manual, essentially.

“The transmission of that manual result is what we’re looking at. And we need to avoid glitches, interference, and unnecessary hacking in this age of computer inquisitiveness. Nigeria will be there.”

Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, disclosed that with the review of some provisions of the electoral bill by the National Assembly, the presidential and National Assembly polls will now hold in January, not February, 2027.

He told reporters, “I think the senate president has said most of the things that we have done yesterday during the amendment exercise.

“However, there is one area that I’m sure he forgot to mention, and that is the number of days notice, which was earlier in the 2022 Act, 360 days.

“Now we have seen the wisdom to reduce it to 300 days, and this will inadvertently translate to holding the presidential and National Assembly elections in January 2027, and that will technically avoid conducting election during month of Ramadan of 2027.

“I think this is another piece of legislation that the National Assembly has introduced to avoid voter apathy in the next general election.”

ADC Mocks APC, Says It Fears Credible Elections, in Spite of Having Almost All Governors

African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of undermining Nigeria’s democracy following the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill by the National Assembly.

ADC spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, warned that the ruling party’s actions could threaten democratic norms.

In a post on X, Abdullahi alleged that despite having almost all state governors under its control, APC remained reluctant to allow genuinely free and fair elections.

PDP: It’s Treacherous Betrayal of Nigerians

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the amendment of the electoral act by the National Assembly as a huge betrayal of Nigerians.

In a statement by National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Ini Ememobong, the party said the anti-democratic stance of the senate and the sudden somersault by House of Representatives on the amendment of the Electoral Act 2022, specifically on the mandatory electronic transmission of election results from the polling units, was an act of treachery against the Nigerian electorate.

Ememobong stated, ‘’This is a huge betrayal of the collective trust of Nigerians, who unambiguously expressed their overwhelming demand for the electronic transmission of results. This betrayal is most painful because it strikes the core of democracy, electoral sanctity.

‘’The shocking aspect of the whole drama is the brazen manner in which the legislators acted – they clearly showed disdain for the Nigerian people who voted them into office by openly challenging the supremacy of the voters.”

The statement said, ‘’The excuses advanced for inserting this obnoxious proviso are weak, illogical, and insulting to the intelligence of Nigerians. When lawmakers begin to dilute transparency mechanisms ahead of elections, only one conclusion is rational: there is a calculated attempt to create room for electoral manipulation.

‘’By this act, the National Assembly has violated the foundation of legislative representation, which is anchored on mirroring the wishes of the majority of their constituents. This is a painful betrayal, which the people will certainly repay in equal, if not heavier measures.’’

Ememobong added that the restriction of party primaries to Direct and Consensus methods constitut-ed an intrusion into the internal affairs of political parties.

He said, ‘’The Supreme Court has consistently affirmed that political parties possess autonomy in managing their internal processes. This provision is, therefore, ultra vires, and the attempt to constrict political parties is condemnable.

‘’Additionally, If the ruling party truly believes it enjoys the support it claims, it should welcome every mechanism that guarantees transparency. Their shameless support for this anomaly shows their fear of impending defeat in a free and fair election.”

PDP said, ‘’It is most shameful that a party that demanded electronic voting in 2015 is now unwilling and unprepared to have electronic transmission of results-this is a crying shame.

‘’Finally, we call on all Nigerians, the organised labour and civil society organisations to use all lawful means to express their displeasure on the anti-democratic actions of our National Assembly, in the hope that they will reconsider their position.

“This hard-won democracy must not be allowed to suffer decline in the hands of retrogressive politicians, masking as legislators.’’

PDP slammed Tinubu for hurriedly assenting to the new electoral act, despite the widespread criticisms from political parties and Nigerians.

Ememobong, said, ‘’The hurried grant of a presidential assent to the contentious bill as passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, despite the widespread opposition by Nigerians, is a confirmation of the fact that this was a well-choreographed drama by the APC.

‘’The party’s fear of the inevitable defeat from a free and fair election is palpable and they are unable to conceal it again. This is indeed a sad day for democracy. The Nigerian people have been dealt a bad card, which existentially threatens democracy.’’

Emomobong said the president had shown his inability to rise above partisanship in the art of governance.

Presiding Electoral Officers Open to Danger, Says Igini on Consequences of Bill

Former Resident Electoral Commissioner of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mike Igini, warned that the controversial Electoral Act amendment bill, assented to by Tinubu, could endanger the lives of presiding officers during the 2027 general election.

Igini raised the concern while speaking on “The Morning Show” on Arise Television.

According to him, the proposed changes can reintroduce a system similar to the former “Incident Form,” particularly in situations where election officials claim there is no network connectivity for electronic transmission of results.

He warned that such a scenario could create tension at polling units, especially where voters were able to confirm network availability on their mobile devices while a presiding officer insisted otherwise.

Igini said this could expose presiding officers, who are mostly members of the National Youth Service Corps, to potential danger from aggrieved voters.

He stated that the children of the political elite were not the ones deployed to polling units, but rather youth corps members who bore the brunt of election day responsibilities.

The former INEC commissioner also referenced past elections, alleging that there had been cases of collusion involving electoral officials, including incidents where serial numbers of election result sheets were compromised.

He questioned how authorities would determine authentic results in cases where duplicated serial numbers were uploaded to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (iReV).

Igini stated, “The consequence, the danger of what has been passed is that we are bringing back what they call ‘incident form’. This is another version of incident form because there will be no network.

“The danger of what is going to happen in 2027 are as follows: the polling units presiding officers’ lives are going to be in danger.

“This is because when Nigerians are gathered and the results of polling units are being announced, everyone can look at their telephone and see network, but if the presiding officer says there is no network, you are going to put the life of that presiding officer in danger.

“Meanwhile, the children of all the political elites are not going to be at the polling unit. It’s the youth corps members that are going to be faced with this clear danger.” Igini explained, “You know that in 2015 and 2019 there were evidences of collusion of some of our staff, when they gave the serial number of ECA in certain polling units for people to print, where you will now have the same serial number and the essential feature. And where they are transmitted to the iReV, which ones are you going to pick?”