Presidency Slams Opposition Over Outrage Against New Electoral Act and Claims of One-Party State
The Presidency has fired back at opposition parties following their recent criticisms of the 2026 Electoral Act and the President Bola Tinubu administration, describing their allegations as reckless and a bid to attract cheap headlines. In a statement released on Thursday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, told the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to cease their “constant lamentation” and focus on internal introspection.
The reaction follows a press conference held in Abuja where opposition figures accused the Federal Government and the National Assembly of undermining democracy through the recent amendments to the electoral legal framework. Onanuga dismissed these claims as a campaign of disinformation, asserting that the National Assembly acted within its constitutional powers to ensure good governance and electoral stability. He specifically defended the provision allowing Form EC8A to serve as a valid backup for election results in the event of network failures during real-time transmission.
According to the Presidency, the opposition’s outcry over the use of Form EC8A is illogical, as network glitches remain a practical reality in Nigeria. Onanuga clarified that while the 2026 Electoral Act supports real-time transmission, it must have safeguards to prevent the invalidation of entire elections due to technical hitches. He further reminded the opposition that the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) is merely a platform for public transparency and not a legal collation center, emphasizing that the primary source for validating results remains the physical Form EC8.
Addressing the opposition’s rejection of direct primaries and consensus voting, the Presidency expressed surprise that political leaders would prefer a “corrupt delegate system” over a process that restores party ownership to its members. Onanuga noted that the removal of delegate-based primaries is a democratic win for Nigerians, drawing a parallel to the United States’ presidential system where party members directly choose their candidates. He debunked the notion that the National Assembly ignored public wishes, stating instead that the legislature spent two years consulting with technical experts and stakeholders to mitigate risks.
The statement also tackled allegations that President Tinubu is attempting to transition Nigeria into a one-party state. Onanuga labeled such claims as “cheap shots” that reveal the lack of organization within the opposition ranks. He maintained that Nigeria remains a vibrant multiparty democracy and pointed to the President’s own history as an opposition leader who successfully challenged the status quo in 2015.
Concluding the statement, Onanuga insisted that the new Electoral Act signed by President Tinubu is a significant improvement over previous laws, designed specifically to close loopholes used for manipulation and hacking. He urged the ADC and NNPP to stop blaming the government for their own lack of preparedness and instead work on fixing the “mess” within their respective parties.
