Dr. Sam Amadi, former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and prominent governance expert, has raised alarms over the deepening crisis of public trust in Nigeria’s democracy, warning that cynicism and a lack of visible commitment from the Bola Tinubu administration toward electoral reform threaten the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at First Daily Media Networks’ Fifth-Anniversary Public Lecture on Monday, November 10, 2025, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Event Center in Abuja, Amadi bluntly stated:
“President Bola Tinubu has not made any commitment to a free and fair election in 2027.”
The lecture, themed “How Can We Make Our Votes Count?”, convened legal experts, political analysts, and civic leaders to explore the future of Nigeria’s democratic system.
Amadi argued that the gravest threat to free and fair elections is no longer just corruption within institutions like INEC or the judiciary, but a pervasive sense of helplessness and fatalism among citizens.
“The gravest threat to a free and fair election in 2027 is the crippling cynicism that we have given up on the possibility of it,” he said.
“Many Nigerians now believe elections are permanently rigged and that belief is far more dangerous than rigging itself.”
The scholar described the current political landscape as a form of “massive state capture,” where institutions central to the electoral process, from INEC to security agencies and the judiciary, are tied to the president either by ethnicity or political allegiance.
He noted that, unlike prior administrations, President Tinubu has made no public policy commitment to electoral reform nor established a reform committee to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral framework.
“President Tinubu has done nothing about electoral reform,” Amadi said.
“He has, in fact, worsened the environment of electoral integrity by making partisan appointments into the electoral management body.”
Amadi warned that this concentration of influence violates a long-standing national convention: that incumbents avoid appointing election officials from their ethnic or political bloc.
He described the situation as a “dangerous erosion of trust” in the democratic process.
Cynicism: The Real Threat
For Amadi, public disengagement poses a greater threat to Nigeria’s democracy than institutional corruption.
“If Nigerians continue to feel their votes will never count, they will stop preparing for elections and start preparing for conflict,” he said.
“No nation that consistently rigs elections survives without unrest.”
He traced historical crises, including the civil war, to disputes over flawed or manipulated elections, underscoring the link between electoral injustice and national instability.
“Nigerians are smart individually but not collectively,” Amadi observed.
“We hustle for personal survival, yet outsource the collective survival of the nation to luck.”
Rethinking Institutions
Amadi called for a radical overhaul of INEC, describing it as “one of the most incompetent and badly designed electoral management systems in the world.”
He urged civil society groups to move beyond donor-driven checklists toward advocacy that addresses structural inefficiencies.
He also challenged the judiciary to rethink electoral dispute resolution, noting that courts often place impossible burdens on petitioners instead of aiding them.
“Judges should help victims of electoral fraud, not ask them to do the impossible,” he said.
Further, Amadi criticized the dominance of lawyers in electoral reform committees, arguing that expertise in political science, sociology, and technology is crucial for building credible electoral systems.
“Lawyers are the first real enemies of democracy when they dominate reform committees,” he said.
“We need sociologists, political scientists, and people who understand human systems — not just litigation.”
READ ALSO: Sam Amadi Warns: Nigeria Risks Conflict Without Credible Elections
A Call to Nigerians
Closing his keynote, Amadi urged citizens to hold officials accountable and reject the culture of glorifying mediocrity.
“We must stop this national religion of calling everyone a hero or legend,” he said.
“No one should be acclaimed honest until they have delivered results.”
He warned that without genuine electoral reform, citizens may prepare for conflict instead of elections:
“If we continue to rig elections the way we did in 2023, in the next two or three cycles, Nigerians will stop preparing for elections and start preparing for war. And Nigeria will not survive that.”
A Timely Conversation
The lecture, which featured panelists including Randy Peters, Majeed Dahiru, Gloria Ballason, and Frank Tietie, reinforced First Daily Media Networks’ role as a convener of national dialogue and civic engagement.
Amadi’s message was clear: democracy in Nigeria will endure only when citizens believe in it, demand accountability, and actively safeguard the integrity of their vote.