The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted the presidential assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking after signing the Bill into law, President Tinubu said the process was driven by the need to add value to the electoral process and promote the sanctity of the ballot.

The opposition party, which dismissed the presidential assent as hasty, however, claimed that the controversial Electoral Act amendment has corrupted Nigeria’s democracy and is akin to signing the death warrant of credible elections in the country.

The statement, signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, questioned what it described as “the undue haste with which the President signed the bill into law, even in the face of widespread objections by citizens across the country”, declaring it part of the ruling party’s elaborate scheme to rig the 2027 election.

The full statement read: “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.

“At a time when Nigerians across generations and political affiliations are calling for stronger accountability and the full modernisation of our electoral system, it is sad to see a President who likes to boast of his pro-democracy credentials hurriedly approving amendments that not only fail to improve citizens’ confidence in the electoral process.

“In signing the bill into law, the President claimed to be consolidating the country’s democracy, but in reality, he has simply corrupted it further by introducing ambiguity and permitting excessive discretion in the collation and transmission process.

“It is quite instructive that, despite claiming to control more than 30 state governments and commanding a majority in both chambers of the National Assembly, the extraordinary haste with which this amendment was passed and signed raises the unavoidable question of why a government that wrongly boasts about being so politically dominant would rush changes to the electoral framework unless it harbours deep-seated doubts about submitting itself to a truly transparent and competitive process.

“By refusing to slow down, listen, and meaningfully engage with the concerns of Nigerians, President Tinubu and the APC-led National Assembly have shown that they are afraid of what the Nigerian people will do to them in a free and fair election, and they have reacted by demonstrating outright disregard for the very citizens whose mandate sustains their democratic authority.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is also deeply concerned about what this amendment portends for Nigeria’s forthcoming elections. In the absence of firm guarantees of electronic transparency, vigilant citizens may feel compelled to physically safeguard their votes to prevent discrepancies between polling units and collation centres, as has been witnessed in the past. No government that is confident in its democratic mandate and cares about its citizens should place its people in a position that risks heightening tension during elections.

“In this regard, the ADC wishes to pass the following message to all Nigerians, friends of Nigeria, and the world at large:

“As a duly constituted political party in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with the actions taken by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, 18 February, moving forward, the ADC affirms in the strongest and clearest 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.

“We will mobilise Nigerians towards vigilance, towards lawful participation, and towards unity in defence of their constitutional rights. We stand firm in the belief that the will of the people must prevail and that no law, however hastily enacted, can extinguish the democratic aspirations of a free nation.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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