In a strongly worded address at the NDC aspirants’ summit held in Abuja on Saturday, chieftain Buba Galadima accused the ruling APC of deliberately crafting the 2026 Electoral Act to hobble opposition parties. He asserted that the legislation was conceived to make it nearly impossible for rival political groups to field candidates fairly.
Galadima, a prominent figure in the Nigerian Democratic Congress, claimed that the APC formed a committee well before the bill reached the National Assembly, ensuring the final law would overwhelmingly favor the ruling party. He criticized the speed at which President Bola Tinubu signed the bill, suggesting the president had a prearranged version ready for endorsement.
“The moment the National Assembly concluded its work on the draft, the president assented within an hour,” Galadima stated. “Did he truly examine that bill? It’s evident a prewritten document was waiting for him.”
He focused his criticism on clauses regulating candidate emergence, which limit methods to either consensus or direct primaries. According to Galadima, the APC wagered that opposition parties would fail to achieve consensus and would be forced into direct primaries—a process he believes is inherently flawed for them.
“No opposition party can conduct direct primaries without major irregularities,” he warned. “Therefore, I urge all party members and aspirants to avoid direct primaries for the 2027 elections and instead pursue consensus arrangements.”
Galadima’s remarks underscore deepening concerns about Nigeria’s democratic processes and the perceived manipulation of electoral laws to entrench one-party dominance.