On Thursday, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said it will get Nigerians all over the country to safeguard the integrity of future elections. They accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of signing the modified Electoral Act into law, which they said hurt the credibility of democracy.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary for the opposition party, said in a statement that the party was against the bill because the president authorized it too quickly, even though many people were against it.
“By quickly agreeing to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the death warrant on fair elections and set Nigeria’s democracy back by decades.”
The statement went on to say, “By signing the bill into law, the president said he was strengthening the country’s democracy. In reality, he has only made it worse by adding confusion and allowing too much freedom in the collection and transmission process.”
The party argued that the quick passage and approval of the measure had made them doubt the government’s faith in a fair electoral process.
“It is very interesting that, even though they say they control more than 30 state governments and have a majority in both chambers of the National Assembly, this amendment was passed and signed so quickly. This makes one wonder why a government that falsely claims to be so politically powerful would rush changes to the electoral framework unless it has deep-seated doubts about going through a truly open and competitive process.
“The African Democratic Congress is quite worried about what this change means for Nigeria’s next elections. Without strong guarantees of electronic transparency, watchful citizens may feel they have to protect their votes in person to stop differences between polling places and collation centers, as has happened before.
“As a legally recognized political party in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the ADC strongly and clearly states that we are ready, willing, and able to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy using all constitutional and legal measures at our disposal.
“We will get Nigerians to be vigilant, participate in the law, and come together to protect their constitutional rights.” The ADC declared, “We firmly believe that the will of the people must prevail and that no law, no matter how quickly it is passed, can stop the democratic hopes of a free nation.”
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