The Presidency on Thursday criticised opposition parties for what it described as spurious allegations against President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the recently signed Electoral Act 2026.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, reacting to criticisms of the new law, said the opposition — particularly the African Democratic Congress (ADC) — had “turned irresponsible political statements into an art form” in a bid to attract headlines and mislead the public.
“Some prominent opposition figures, led by the ADC and NNPP, gathered in Abuja today and made reckless, spurious allegations against President Bola Tinubu and the APC-led Federal Government,” Onanuga said.
The opposition parties, meeting under the aegis of an “Opposition Coalition”, had expressed concerns that votes in the 2027 general election “may not count”, citing provisions of the 2026 Electoral Act which they claim could undermine free, fair and credible elections.
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In response, Onanuga accused the coalition of waging “a relentless war of disinformation” against the National Assembly and the administration.
“The group, working in cahoots with some civil society organisations, has made false allegations in a bid to impose its will on Nigerians and on the legislature — the arm of government constitutionally empowered to make laws for the country’s good governance,” he said.
He stated that the National Assembly amended the law “in response to the realities of our country”, noting that the Act provides for real-time transmission of election results, with Form EC8A serving as a backup in the event of network failure.
“The opposition’s claim that Form EC8A creates a loophole for manipulation is illogical and a needless tantrum by those who should know better,” he said.
“Any reasonable Nigerian understands that network glitches are a real issue. The 2026 Electoral Act does not prohibit real-time transmission; it simply stipulates that if transmission fails, the result recorded on Form EC8A shall be deemed valid.
“Moreover, the role of IReV (INEC Results Viewing Portal) must not be misunderstood. IReV is not a collation centre; it is a platform for uploading results for public viewing. The primary source for validating election results remains Form EC8.”
Onanuga also criticised opposition parties for rejecting the use of direct primaries for selecting party candidates, as provided under the amended law.
“We find it perplexing why the opposition is complaining about the inclusion of direct primaries and consensus voting, instead of the delegate system they prefer,” he said.
“The opposition should be grateful to the National Assembly for removing delegate-based primaries and restoring party ownership to its members. No aspirant should fear participation by party members in primaries. This is similar to how candidates are selected in the United States, from which we adopted the presidential system.”
He rejected claims that the National Assembly ignored public input in the amendment process.
“For two years, according to the Senate Majority Leader, the National Assembly consulted stakeholders, technical experts and millions of Nigerians who expressed concerns about the risk of technical failures that could invalidate elections,” he said.
Onanuga also dismissed allegations that President Tinubu is seeking to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
“Nigeria remains a vibrant multiparty democracy, with more than a dozen registered parties, including the ADC and NNPP. The opposition should stop exaggerating the impact of the new Electoral Act,” he said.
He added that the opposition’s challenges stem more from internal disorganisation than from legislative reforms.
“President Tinubu is a democrat — an opposition leader who, alongside like-minded individuals, led the charge to defeat the PDP in 2015,” he said.
“Contrary to the deliberate misinformation being spread to incite the populace, the new Electoral Act is a significant improvement on the repealed law, closing loopholes that some sought to exploit.”
Onanuga urged opposition parties to focus on introspection rather than what he described as constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage.
