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•Call for review of electoral act
By Sunday Ani
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, members of the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) have warned of imminent threat to democracy following alleged attempts by those in leadership positions to manipulate laws and weaken public confidence in the electoral process.
This concern was raised by Prof. Pat Utomi, leader of the group, at a briefing in Lagos yesterday, where he condemned the growing constitutional violations and declining electoral participation.
Speaking on the text, titled, ‘Before the curtain falls on Nigeria’s democracy,’ he accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of playing the script of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the presidency.
He described as feverish the level at which the country’s constitution is being violated and warned that if voices of reason were not heard and the current mischief was allowed to continue, the collapse of the current democracy and the erosion of the legitimacy of the state was imminent.
He cited the recent council election in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Abuja, as one of the developments that could bring an end to the current democracy, saying, “Inclination to vote, as the recent Abuja elections show, is now below 10 percent of those registered to vote. Once the people decide their vote is pointless, the stage is set for ‘voting’ with their feet and ways of violence and self help.”
He noted that the group main goal is to let the decision makers know that the group would not only contest every abuse in the court of public opinion and mobilise social resistance, but would also want those in power to recognise that their panic is unnecessary given the incumbent numbers in their favour unless they recognise that those governors have no electoral value beyond weaponising poverty and using criminally diverted state resources to buy the votes of the hungry and impoverished.
He also noted that in spite of the widespread belief that the judiciary is compromised and complicit, the group shall also go to the courts of law.
Part of the text read: “As leaders of the organised civil society, we plan several initiatives to ensure that Nigerians have free, fair and credible elections in spite of the effort of those in power to procure the opposite.
“We plan to get several civil society groups to set up independent IREVs to which party agents will upload the photographed Form EC8A immediately they are signed for transmission instantly to their IREV and dashboards in the newsrooms of global television stations and local station counterparts.
“We plan to recruit vote marshals who shall be former military and police personnel, who will be trained and deployed to every polling station in the country.
“We plan to commence massive voter education and mobilisation exercises to shake them out of voter apathy and train them on how to protect their vote in the way the youth of Kano have done in former times.
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“We plan to engage the NGO community and religious bodies to mobilise their members to actively ask accountability of serving politicians, protest vote rigging plans and make people realise it is a moral obligation to vote and protect their vote.
“We plan tTo reject, as a grave offence against decency, the trend by INEC, as umpire, to keep interfering in the selection of members of contesting parties and their competitive strategy. For instance, in some cases, INEC guidelines amount to unconstitutional abrogation of the rights of freedom of association and the responsibility of political parties to decide when and how to proceed with the pursuit of their election agenda.
“We plan to get the media community, public intellectuals and academia to properly analyse the illegal amending of yet to be gazetted electoral acts, all in desperate effort to prevent particular citizens on the ballot paper
“We plan to alert the Diaspora about the need to attract the attention of the global community about actions in Nigeria comparable to those under Abacha which pushed Nigeria into pariah status in the 1997/1998 season of ‘five fingers of the same leprous hand’
“We also plan to call on elders of the land, especially statesmen in their 80s and 90s like former Heads of State and senior citizens, key traditional rulers and religious leaders to speak with one voice to conventions that have kept the peace and good order in the politics of Nigeria.”
The group also called for the immediate immediate review of what it described as the doctored electoral acts, a change of course or instant resignation of the INEC leadership, and a return to the path of transparency in public choice; a development it noted would ensure Nigeria was not pushed into the politics of power erosion that will suffocate the legitimacy of the state.
He called for the immediate return of the Electoral Act 2026 to the National Assembly for a transparent and inclusive review reflecting Nigerians’ aspirations.
Utomi said controversies surrounding the Act must be resolved before the general elections to encourage wider participation.
He also stressed the need for immediate gazetting of the Act after review and assent to ensure public access.
“How can political parties and the electorate comply with laws that no one can categorically say they have seen in their final, official form?” Utomi asked.
The group equally accused the National Assembly members of setting traps for others and trying to criminalise freedom of choice even though they have been switching parties themselves. “They will do well to look at history and the good book to see how people fell into the trap they set for others and were ensnared by their own doing,” it said.
It also warned state governors, who have raked in a windfall from removal of petroleum subsidies and refused to alleviate the suffering of the masses simply because they have gone into the APC, that judgement was around the corner.
