Bayo Onanuga.
The recently signed Electoral Act amendment bill 2026, was Thursday roundly rejected by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). Both political parties described it as a threat to democracy and an attempt to establish a one-party system in Nigeria. Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s adviser on information and strategy, in a swift reaction accused the parties of spreading misinformation about the Electoral Act, 2026.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on February 18, signed the Electoral Act 2026 after it was passed by the National Assembly.
Ajuji Ahmed, NNPP’s National Chairman, addressed journalists in Abuja on Thursday on behalf of the opposition parties.
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led National Assembly and Tinubu of enacting the law with “contemptuous haste” to “weaken opposition, corrupt the electoral system, compromise democratic institutions and foist a totalitarian one-party rule on Nigeria”.
Ajuji said the opposition parties would deploy all constitutional avenues to block the implementation of the Electoral Act.
Said he: “We therefore state unequivocally that the new Electoral Act is anti-democratic, and its implementation will undermine electoral transparency and sanctity of the ballot which are fundamental to free, fair and credible elections and the bedrock of participatory democracy.
“This obnoxious Electoral Act, 2026 is without doubt enacted to undermine democracy in Nigeria and it is part of the on-going design by the Tinubu-led APC to disorganise and weaken opposition, corrupt the electoral system, compromise democratic institutions and foist a totalitarian one-party rule on Nigeria.
“Therefore, we, as patriotic leaders, standing shoulder to shoulder with Nigerians, reject the new Electoral Act for the following reasons.
“We demand that the National Assembly immediately commence a fresh amendment to the Electoral Act 2026, to remove all obnoxious provisions and ensure that the Act reflects only the will and aspiration of Nigerians for free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process in our country. Nothing short of this will be acceptable to Nigerians”.
The NNPP chairman also condemned the National Assembly for ignoring “well-thought-out and well-considered clause-by-clause recommendations from stakeholders and citizens across the country” during public hearings, adding that “the will of the people were eventually subverted and their views rubbished”.
He commended opposition lawmakers who “stood firmly against anti-democratic forces” while warning transactional lawmakers that “the people are watching and taking note” and “at the appropriate time, the people would remember those who stood in defence of their democratic aspirations and those who sold the will of the people for a mess of pottage”.
The opposition leaders also described the recent Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections as a “test-run of 2027 APC rigging plan”.
Present at the press briefing were former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, 2023 presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), and Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
Others were David Mark, national chairman of the ADC, and Rauf Aregbesola, the party’s national secretary.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, a raging reaction, accused the political parties of disspersing misinformation about the Electoral Act, 2026.
In a statement, Onanuga asked the ADC and NNPP to desist from “constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage” against the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
Read the statement: “The opposition, particularly the ADC, has turned irresponsible political statements into an art form, all in a bid to attract cheap headlines and mislead the public.
“The opposition should stop exaggerating the effects of the new Electoral Act. Their inability to organise and their tendency to blame others for their own disorganisation and unpreparedness are evident.
“Contrary to their deliberate misinformation designed to incite the populace, the new Electoral Act, signed by President Tinubu, is a significant improvement over the repealed law, closing loopholes the opposition leaders sought to exploit for manipulation”.
Onanuga alleged that the opposition parties were working with some civil society organisations to wage a campaign of disinformation against the legislature and the administration.
The presidential aide defended the new law, noting that it provided for real-time transmission of election results while retaining form EC8A as a back-up in the event of network failure.
Onanuga said the opposition’s claim that the use of form EC8A created a loophole for manipulation was illogical and ignored the realities of technological challenges in parts of the country.
Stated he: “Any reasonable Nigerian understands that network glitches are a real issue”..
Onanuga also addressed concerns raised about the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) results viewing portal (IReV), stating that it is not a collation centre but a platform for uploading results for public viewing.
He added that form EC8A remained the primary source for validating election results.
Onanuga criticised the opposition’s rejection of direct primaries for selecting party candidates, describing their stance as “perplexing”.
He argued that direct primaries and consensus voting were more democratic than the delegate system previously used by many parties.
Onanuga said lawmakers consulted widely over two years, engaging stakeholders, technical experts and citizens who raised concerns about the risk of technical failures that could undermine elections.
The presidential spokesman also rejected allegations that Tinubu was plotting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
Said he: “In summary, the opposition is merely crying foul because the rules of the game have been adjusted to prevent manipulation, such as result hacking, which they have allegedly perfected”.
Onanuga said Nigeria remained home to more than a dozen registered political parties, including the ADC and NNPP, adding that the opposition’s challenges stemmed from internal disorganisation rather than any attempt by the government to stifle dissent.
