By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, vowing to mobilise Nigerians to defend what it described as the sanctity of the country’s democracy.
In a statement released and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Thursday, the opposition party accused the president of undermining credible elections by approving the amendment with “alarming speed.”
According to the ADC, the new law sets Nigeria’s democracy back and weakens public confidence in the electoral process.
“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 argued that at a time when Nigerians are demanding greater accountability and full modernisation of the electoral system, the amendment fails to strengthen transparency. It further alleged that the changes introduce ambiguity and grant excessive discretion in the collation and transmission of election results.
The ADC questioned the urgency with which the bill was passed and signed into law, noting that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) controls a majority of state governments and holds dominance in the National Assembly.
“It raises the unavoidable question of why a government that boasts of political dominance would rush changes to the electoral framework unless it harbours doubts about submitting itself to a truly transparent and competitive process,” the party stated.
The ADC also expressed concern that the amendment could heighten tensions in future elections, warning that in the absence of firm guarantees of electronic transparency, citizens might feel compelled to physically safeguard their votes to prevent discrepancies during collation.
“No government confident in its mandate should put citizens in a position that risks increasing tension during elections,” the party added.
The opposition party declared that it was prepared to defend Nigeria’s democracy through constitutional and lawful means.
“As a duly constituted political party in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we affirm in the strongest 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.
The ADC pledged to mobilise Nigerians toward vigilance, lawful participation and unity in defence of their constitutional rights, insisting that “no law, however hastily enacted, can extinguish the democratic aspirations of a free nation.”
