Leaders of opposition political parties in Nigeria have rejected the amended Electoral Act 2026 signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The opposition leaders, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, faulted the manner in which the National Assembly passed the legislation.
Addressing a press conference, Ajuri Ahmed of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of working to position President Tinubu as the only viable presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 election.
Ahmed said statistics available to the opposition showed that election results could be transmitted electronically from every polling unit, questioning the inclusion of a manual transmission proviso in the amended law.
He expressed surprise at the speed with which the President assented to the bill, noting that other pieces of legislation had not received similar urgency.
According to him, the recently concluded Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election demonstrated why the APC was eager to have the Electoral Act signed.
The opposition leaders also rejected the outcome of the FCT election, describing it as a litmus test which they said the new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman had failed.
