Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Senate of deliberately frustrating efforts to amend the Electoral Act 2022, warning that continued delays could undermine the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement shared on his X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Atiku described loopholes in the current Electoral Act as a major setback to the 2023 elections.
He argued that they enabled widespread electoral malpractice and made it difficult for petitioners to prove their cases in court.
“A major setback to the 2023 elections is the loopholes in the Electoral Act 2022 that paved the way for the brazen rigging of that election, and the near-impossibility of petitioners to advance their cases in the courts,” he said.
Atiku stressed that urgent legislative action was required if similar challenges were to be avoided in future polls, particularly the 2027 general elections.
“It is imperative that if the mistakes of the 2023 election are to be corrected, the legal instrument for the conduct of the 2027 and subsequent future elections needs to be reviewed,” he added.
‘Stalling Reforms’
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that the Senate was intentionally blocking the passage of proposed amendments to the Act.
“But as things stand, it has become obvious that the Senate is determined to frustrate the passage of amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act,” Atiku said.
Atiku warned that failure to amend the law ahead of 2027 would amount to a deliberate attempt to compromise the electoral process.
“The credibility of the 2027 general elections hinges on the urgency with which the Senate treats this crucial bill.
“It is, therefore, imperative that the Senate finalises the amendments and ensures the updated law governs the conduct of the 2027 elections. Anything short of this is a deliberate attempt to rig the election long before the ballots are cast,” he stated.
The Electoral Act 2022, signed into law in February 2022, currently governs the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
The National Assembly is also considering an Electoral Act Amendment Bill aimed at addressing shortcomings observed during the 2023 polls, ahead of the 2027 elections.
