Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Dr. Sam Amadi, has warned that Nigeria’s 2027 general elections are doomed unless citizens overcome “crippling cynicism” and mobilise for action to defend electoral integrity.
Speaking at the First Daily 5th Annual Public Lecture held in Abuja on Monday, Amadi declared that President Bola Tinubu has shown zero commitment to electoral reform, accusing the administration of deepening partisan control over election institutions.
“Tinubu is not Jonathan who conducted a free and fair election that ended his tenure. Tinubu is not a gentleman o. Tinubu is Jagaban,” Amadi said to a charged audience.
According to him, the biggest threat to credible polls in 2027 is not INEC or the judiciary but public despair, warning that widespread voter apathy could hand victory to manipulators “before the first ballot is even cast.”
Amadi faulted Tinubu’s ethnic-based appointments in key electoral, judicial and security institutions, calling them “a dangerous concentration of state power.”
“For the first time in a long while, everyone who manages elections is connected to Tinubu by ethnicity or political alliance,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to reject cynicism and instead mount “smart, consistent, and strategic actions” to hold INEC, political parties, civil society and the judiciary accountable.
