ABUJA, NIGERIA — Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday joined other opposition leaders at a joint press conference in Abuja to formally reject the recently amended 2026 Electoral Act signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The opposition leaders called for the law to be reenacted in line with what they described as the wishes and democratic aspirations of Nigerians.
Atiku expressed support for the position articulated by Dr Ajuji Ahmed, National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), particularly concerning Section 60(3) of the amended Act. According to the opposition, the provision allows the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to adopt manual transmission of election results in cases of network failure, rather than mandating real-time electronic transmission to the IReV portal.
The opposition leaders argued that the clause could weaken transparency in the electoral process, especially in a country where internet penetration is reportedly above 90 percent.
They also rejected Section 84(2) of the Act, which they say imposes either direct primaries or consensus mode of primary elections on political parties, describing it as an intrusion into internal party affairs.
Atiku characterized the amended law as “offensive” and “anti-democratic,” alleging that it represents an attempt by the APC-led National Assembly to undermine the integrity of Nigeria’s elections ahead of 2027.
He called on all opposition political parties to unite in what he described as a mission to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy and resist any perceived attempts at electoral manipulation in the next general election cycle.
