A former Independent National Electoral Commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, has called on President Bola Tinubu to withhold assent on the recently passed Electoral Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026, describing it as “a recipe for chaos” that could undermine Nigeria’s democracy.
Igini made the call on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television following the Senate’s passage of the bill, which included contentious provisions under Clause 60 on electronic transmission of results.
“It is indeed my humble recommendation to Mr President that you are a man of history. You were a senior man to very many of us in the struggle at the time when the journey of Nigeria and the prospect of democracy was less certain,” he said.
He further reminded the president of the 2015 struggle to ensure elections reflect the people’s will.
“And also remember that, at a time when the PDP was in office and when we were in office, and they were saying that there was going to be a federal might, some of us stood out to say no.
“In 2015, it’s going to be the might of people, not federal might, but the might of the people through the ballot that should determine what will happen.
“You should be a man of history, what is put before you take it back, don’t sign it,” Igini said.
The Senate had on Tuesday passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 after tense deliberations.
The session saw opposition from Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who demanded a division on Clause 60(3), proposing that manual forms should not serve as a fallback if electronic transmission fails. After a vote, 55 senators supported the proviso while 15 opposed it.
Turning to the judiciary, Igini warned that courts have historically failed to protect voters and uphold democracy.
“The greatest option that we have is the judiciary that must stand tall and mighty in defence of democracy and the rule of law. Were it not for the judiciary, we would not be where we are today,” he said.
He also stressed past failures, saying, “I have all the records of failures. When it comes to elections, the judiciary has not done well. In fact, the Nigerian people now see my constituency as a veritable conspiracy against them because they have never given effect to it.”
Igini also criticised the Senate’s handling of the bill, citing the reversal of Clause 60 provisions that originally mandated real-time electronic transmission of polling unit results.
“Look at what has happened…Today, no primary in Nigeria because Supreme Court struck down the party direction that was issued in line with Section 29 of the Act,” he said.
Igini had earlier warned in a Sunday statement that many National Assembly members risk losing their seats if mandatory real-time electronic transmission is not guaranteed.
He stressed that for democracy to thrive, the judiciary must enforce due process and protect voters’ rights: “The way forward is for the judiciary to stand tall and mighty in defence of due process because what we are seeing now is not what is expected.”
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