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 official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, Atiku described loopholes in the existing Electoral Act as a major setback that marred the 2023 elections, arguing that the deficiencies enabled widespread electoral malpractice and weakened the ability of aggrieved candidates to obtain justice through the courts.
“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.
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stressed that urgent legislative intervention was necessary to prevent a repeat of the challenges witnessed during the last 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,” Atiku stated.
He further alleged that the Senate was intentionally blocking the passage of proposed amendments to the Electoral 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,” he said.
Atiku warned that failure to amend the law ahead of the 2027 polls would amount to a calculated attempt to compromise Nigeria’s 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 added.
The Electoral Act 2022, which was signed into law in February 2022, currently regulates the conduct of elections in Nigeria. The National Assembly is presently considering an Electoral Act Amendment Bill aimed at addressing the shortcomings observed during the 2023 elections ahead of the 2027 polls.