The African Democratic Congress has accused President Bola Tinubu of corrupting Nigeria’s democracy by signing the Electoral Act 2026 Amendment into law, describing the move as a death warrant on credible elections that sets the country back by decades.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Thursday, February 19, the ADC said the speed with which the bill was passed and signed into law raised serious questions about the government’s intentions ahead of the 2027 elections.
“With the alarmingly speedy assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the death warrant on credible elections and, by so doing, set Nigeria’s democracy back by several decades,” the statement read.
The party accused the president of hiding behind democratic rhetoric while actively undermining the electoral process.
“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,” the ADC said.
The party questioned why a government that claims to control over 30 state governments and holds a majority in both chambers of the National Assembly would rush through changes to the electoral framework.
“The extraordinary haste with which this amendment was passed and signed raises the unavoidable question of why a government that boasts about being politically dominant would rush changes to the electoral framework unless it harbours deep-seated doubts about submitting itself to a truly transparent and competitive process,” it said.
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The ADC accused Tinubu and the APC-led National Assembly of ignoring the wishes of Nigerians who demanded stronger accountability and full modernisation of the electoral system.
“By refusing to slow down, listen, and meaningfully engage the concerns of Nigerians, President 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,” the party said.
The statement warned that the weakened electoral framework could push citizens to take matters into their own hands at polling units.
“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,” the ADC cautioned.
The party concluded with a declaration of intent to mobilise Nigerians in defence of democracy.
“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,” the statement read.
“We will mobilise Nigerians toward vigilance, toward lawful participation, and toward unity in defence of their constitutional rights,” it added.
“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,” the ADC concluded.