JUST IN: ADC vows to mobilise Nigerians against assent of Electoral Act by Tinubu
The leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has vowed to mobilise Nigerian against the recent assent of the Electoral Act 2026 by President Bola Tinubu.
The ADC in a statement issued on Thursday, by Bolaji Abdullahi, the national publicity Secretary said the signing of the Act by the president has corrupted Nigeria’s democracy.
Describing the president’s action as akin to signing the death warrant of a credible election in Nigeria, Abdullahi condemned the haste with which the bill was signed into law.
He expressed concern that even in the face of widespread objections by citizens across the country, the signing of the bill in such a manner is part of the ruling party’s elaborate scheme to rig the 2027 election.
The party declared that with this move, the APC has drawn the battle line between the ruling party and Nigerians and vowed to mobilise citizens to frustrate rigging by any means necessary.
“In signing the bill into law, the President claimed to be consolidating the country’s democracy, but in reality, he has simply corrupted it further by introducing ambiguity and permitting excessive discretion in the collation and transmission process.
“It is quite instructive that despite claiming to control more than 30 state governments and commanding a majority in both chambers of the National Assembly, the extraordinary haste with which this amendment was passed and signed raises the unavoidable question of why a government that wrongly boasts about being so politically dominant would rush changes to the electoral framework unless it harbors deep-seethed doubts about submitting itself to a truly transparent and competitive process,” Abdullahi said.
He added that by refusing to slow down, listen, and meaningfully engage the concerns of Nigerians, Tinubu and the APC-led National Assembly have shown that they are afraid of what the Nigerian people will do to them in a free and fair election.
He also said that the APC and its leaders have reacted by demonstrating outright disregard for the very citizens whose mandate sustains their democratic authority.
“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is also deeply concerned about what this amendment portends for Nigeria’s forthcoming elections. In the absence of firm guarantees of electronic transparency, vigilant citizens may feel compelled to physically safeguard their votes to prevent discrepancies between polling units and collation centres, as has been witnessed in the past. No government that is confident in its democratic mandate and cares about its citizens should place its people in a position that risks heightening tension during elections.
“As a duly constituted political party in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with the actions taken by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, 18th February, moving forward, the ADC affirms in the strongest and clearest possible terms that we are ready, willing, and prepared to defend the sanctity of Nigeria’s democracy using every constitutional and lawful means available to us.
“We will mobilise Nigerians toward vigilance, toward lawful participation, and toward unity in defence of their constitutional rights. We stand firm in the belief that the will of the people must prevail and that no law, however hastily enacted, can extinguish the democratic aspirations of a free nation,” Abdullahi noted.
