The Presidency has rejected opposition attacks on the newly enacted 2026 Electoral Act, describing them as misleading and politically motivated. It maintained that the revised legislation strengthens transparency, reinforces electoral integrity and blocks avenues previously exploited for malpractice.
Reacting to comments by leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Abuja, the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said the criticisms stem from dissatisfaction with reforms aimed at curbing result manipulation and technological abuse.
He insisted that the 2026 Act marks a clear improvement on the repealed law, noting that it reflects current technological realities while preserving established legal safeguards in the electoral process.
Addressing concerns over result transmission, Mr Onanuga explained that the amended law permits real-time electronic transmission of results and retains Form EC8A as a statutory safeguard in cases where network failure occurs.
“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 by the opposition. 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,” Mr Onanuga said.
He described claims that the retention of Form EC8A creates room for manipulation as “illogical and misleading”, stressing that the document remains the legally recognised basis for validating election outcomes.
On internal party processes, the presidential aide defended provisions allowing direct primaries and consensus arrangements, describing them as more participatory alternatives to the delegate system. He argued that such mechanisms are consistent with democratic practices in other presidential systems.
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Mr Onanuga also dismissed allegations that the National Assembly ignored public opinion while amending the law. According to him, lawmakers consulted widely over a two-year period before passing the legislation.
“The opposition’s claim that the National Assembly ignored Nigerians’ wishes is a total falsehood. The NASS did not ignore the public. For two years, according to the Senate majority leader, the NASS listened to various stakeholders, technical experts, and millions of Nigerians who expressed their views on the risk of technical failure that could invalidate the entire election.
“A recurring refrain from the disorganised opposition is the false allegation that President Tinubu aims to turn Nigeria into a one-party state. Such cheap shots reveal their hollowness and lack of reason. Nigeria is a vibrant multiparty democracy, with more than a dozen registered parties, including ADC and NNPP. 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,” he added.
He further described claims that the President seeks to entrench a one-party system as unfounded political rhetoric.
“President Tinubu is a democrat, an opposition leader who, alongside like-minded individuals, led the charge to defeat the PDP in 2015.
“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.
“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,” Mr Onanuga stated.
He urged opposition parties to focus on strengthening their internal structures instead of, in his words, resorting to “constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage”.
“Rather than this constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage, ADC and NNPP leaders should spend more time on introspection and fix their own mess,” he said.
The Presidency maintained that electoral reform should be viewed as a national effort to protect democratic values rather than politicised through unfounded allegations.
