Insisting that any complaints must go via the proper channels in the National Assembly, the Nigerian Senate has rejected new requests from opposition leaders for a change to the Electoral Act 2026.
According to Naija News, this came after opposition party officials, including those from the African Democratic Congress and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, attended a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
Ahead of the general elections in 2027, they urged the MPs to immediately examine the recently signed Electoral Act, calling out certain aspects of it as biased and unfair.
President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act 2026 into law on February 18 after it was recently ratified by the National Assembly. The new rule restricts the selection of candidates by political parties to direct primaries and consensus. Parties had three options under the old 2022 Act: consensus, indirect primaries via delegates, or direct primaries.
Additionally, the new law shortens party primary deadlines and campaign durations. Furthermore, as opposed to the previous law’s 12-month window, financing for the Independent National Electoral Commission will now be made available six months prior to an election.
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu also said that the National Assembly alone has the authority to change the Electoral Act. If political actors are unhappy with the current government, he advised them to get ready for the 2027 elections and warned them against making remarks that can inflame tensions in the nation.
“The opposition ought to refrain from inflaming the political situation. They are not going in the correct direction. This path can only result in anarchy, thus they should abandon it.
“They should challenge Mr. President in 2027 to see if they can beat him if they are uncomfortable with the existing regime. He continued, “They should stop heating up the polity in the interim.”
