Leaders of two opposition political parties, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), gathered in Abuja on Thursday, February 26, 2026 and collectively kicked against the newly passed 2026 Electoral Act by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The opposition leaders specifically criticized the speed with which the President assented to the bill on February 18, 2026, shortly after its passage by lawmakers, describing the action as hasty and insensitive to the concerns raised by stakeholders.
The opposition leaders particularly described the 2026 Electoral Act as detrimental to Nigeria’s democratic framework.
They therefore urged the National Assembly to as a matter of national concern, reopen the legislation for immediate amendment of the Act.
Briefing journalists at the end of their meeting in Abuja, the National Chairman of the NNPP, Alhaji Ajuji Ahmed, who was flanked by key opposition leaders that included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi and former Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi among others, noted that certain provisions of the Act could weaken electoral transparency and tilt the political field in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The opposition leaders further said that the legislation contains clauses that risk narrowing political competition and consolidating power within a single dominant party, stressing that the absence of a mandatory requirement for real-time electronic transmission of results directly from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal is a major impediment to free and transparent election.
They opposition leaders specifically said that allowing manual transmission as an alternative, creates vulnerabilities that could undermine the credibility of elections.
They also faulted amendments restricting political parties to direct primaries and consensus methods for nominating candidates, stressing that the move is an intrusion into internal party affairs.
The opposition parties warned that such restriction could destabilize opposition platforms ahead of the 2027 general elections and therefore vowed to explore all constitutional and legal mechanisms to challenge the implementation of the 2026 Electoral Act.
They warned that failure to address their concerns could heighten political tensions in the lead-up to 2027, thus called on the National Assembly to initiate a fresh amendment process, insisting that electoral reforms must strengthen, rather than weaken, public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic system.
