The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, should anticipate harsh judgment from history for his role in imposing the 2026 Electoral Act on Nigerians, particularly the provision that removes certificate forgery as a valid ground for challenging election results, a move the party says will remain a lasting legacy of the ruling party.
The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, yesterday, ADC berated Akpabio for dismissing protestations over some sections of the new electoral law by the opposition, stressing that the opposition did not object to some sections of the new electoral act for the fun of it.
The party noted that its complaints were because some of the sections were allegedly designed to cripple other political parties and undermine the country’s democracy.
The ADC, alongside other opposition parties, have repeatedly kicked against Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act, which recognises both electronic and manual transmission of election results, as well as Section 84 which restricts political parties to direct primary and consensus for the nomination of candidates for election.
However, Akpabio, while speaking at an event in honour of first lady, Remi Tinubu, in Uyo, at the weekend, dismissed the opposition’s objections to the Electoral Act 2026, insisting that whenever opposition complains about any legislation by the National Assembly, he would know he had acted correctly.
Nonetheless, the opposition party stated that the Senate President should expect the harsh judgment of history, especially for his role in the Electoral Act 2026, which among others removes certificate forgery as grounds for challenging election results.
The statement read: “The ADC has taken note of the recent comments credited to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in which he dismissed the opposition’s complaints about the 2026 Electoral Act as evidence that he and the Senate he leads, have made the right laws. In other words, if the laws had been agreeable to the opposition and did not elicit any complaint, those would have been the wrong laws.
“The embedded logic of this statement exposes the subterfuge behind the entire business of the Electoral Amendment. It was all designed to make the ruling party and the President happy.
“Amendments are made to laws in order to make them better in meeting national aspirations and advancing the collective best interests of citizens towards achieving a better society. It is only in a rogue democracy or more precisely, in a ‘kakistocracy’ such as the one we are in today, that the legislature would sit down to make laws that actually lower society’s ethical standards.
“How can any self-respecting person be happy with himself for presiding over the making of a law that now says the election of an individual can no longer be challenged on the grounds of certificate forgery as provided in Section 138 of the Electoral Act 2026, even though this is in direct contradiction to Sections 66, 107, 137 and 182 of the Constitution, which clearly disqualify anyone who has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from holding public office?”
The party contended that the new electoral law, apart from creating a ‘troubling constitutional conflict,’ depicts how far a desperate political party like the APC would go in bringing the country down to its level. It is difficult to imagine a more damaging message to send to Nigerians, particularly to our young people, than the suggestion that certificate forgery should no longer have serious consequences.
“What kind of lawmakers gather together to conceive, deliberate and pass legislation that appears designed to protect dishonesty rather than punish it? Such actions do not only weaken our democracy; they lower the moral estimation of our country in the eyes of the world and reinforce the dangerous stereotype that corruption is acceptable in Nigerian public life.
“If Senator Akpabio wishes to concern himself with the activities of the opposition, that is his choice. But, Nigerians will ultimately judge leaders not by their ridicule of the opposition, but by their record. And as it stands, the legacy of this National Assembly will be that of the most spineless and compromised legislature in Nigeria’s democratic history, a legislature that made a law which lowered the nation’s ethical standard just to serve the interest of one man.
“While Senator Akpabio can continue to mock the opposition as much as he likes, it is important to note that as a growing party and the choice of millions of Nigerians, the ADC remains focused on building a credible political alternative capable of restoring integrity, competence and accountability to governance in our country.”
