By David Lawani, Abuja
Nigeria’s opposition leaders on Thursday rejected the Electoral Act 2026, demanding an immediate amendment to remove what they described as anti-democratic provisions, while President Bola Tinubu defended the law as necessary to safeguard the country’s democracy.
The position was announced at a press briefing in Abuja attended by prominent opposition figures, including former Senate President David Mark, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola, former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi.
Reading the communiqué on behalf of the coalition, National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ahmed Ajuji, called on the National Assembly to urgently revisit the legislation.
He said the law, recently signed by Tinubu, contains provisions that undermine electoral transparency and public confidence.
“We demand that the National Assembly immediately commence a fresh amendment to the Electoral Act 2026 to remove all obnoxious provisions,” he said, warning that anything short of that would not reflect Nigerians’ aspirations for credible elections.
At the centre of the opposition’s concerns is the amendment to Section 60(3), which allows presiding officers to transmit election results when electronic transmission fails manually.
The coalition argued that the provision weakens the progress made in deploying technology to improve election transparency and could create loopholes for manipulation.
Opposition leaders insisted that Nigeria’s electoral infrastructure has evolved sufficiently to support electronic transmission of results. They warned that retaining manual transmission as a fall back could reverse gains recorded in recent electoral reforms.
They also rejected the amendment to Section 84, which restricts political parties to direct primaries and consensus-based candidate selection, describing it as interference in political parties’ internal affairs.
The opposition further cited alleged irregularities in the recent Federal Capital Territory local government elections as reinforcing fears about the credibility of future polls, particularly the 2027 general elections.
The leaders also raised concerns over reported attacks on opposition figures, warning that increasing political tension and violence could weaken democratic participation if not addressed.
They vowed to challenge the law through constitutional means and mobilise public support to protect Nigeria’s electoral process.
*Tinubu insists law will strengthen democracy
However, President Tinubu has dismissed criticism of the Electoral Act, maintaining that the reforms are designed to strengthen democracy and prevent voter disenfranchisement.
Speaking during an interfaith Iftar with senators at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President rejected claims that his administration was undermining opposition parties or manipulating the political environment.
“Critics must talk. When they accused me of killing the opposition, but I didn’t have a gun,” Tinubu said.
He defended the decision to retain manual transmission of results, arguing that Nigeria must guard against over-reliance on technology that could fail due to technical or security challenges.
The Electoral Act amendment followed weeks of debate in the National Assembly, where lawmakers sharply disagreed over the issue of electronic transmission of results.
Opposition legislators had pushed for compulsory real-time electronic transmission, but the proposal was defeated after a majority of lawmakers voted to retain manual transmission as a backup.
Civil society groups had also called for stronger safeguards to ensure transparency, warning that manual processes could undermine public trust in elections.
Despite the controversy, Tinubu insisted the law represents progress and urged political leaders to focus on strengthening democratic institutions.
The opposition, however, maintained that unless the contentious provisions are reviewed, public confidence in the electoral system could be further
- eroded ahead of the next general elections.
