One thing that has to be said is that as we hurtle cautiously and precariously towards the 2027 general elections, the markedly different methods the ruling party and the opposition parties have chosen to retain or gain power leave one with a sense of foreboding. A vicious and crafty ruling party against a docile and unimaginative opposition does not exactly inspire confidence and is definitely not a match-up that many Nigerians will be looking forward to.
Last month, President Bola Tinubu signed the 2026 Electoral Amendment Bill into law, despite widespread opposition to certain sections and provisions of the bill, chief among which is the controversy and furore that surrounded the mandatory electronic transmission of results. However, while the opposition and the majority of Nigerians were fixated on the controversial Section 60(3), there is another section that many, especially those in the opposition, did not pay attention to. This section could potentially determine the fate of the leading opposition parties, such as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The participation of these parties in the 2027 election hangs precariously on how they can deftly meander and sidestep the political landmines inherent in the section which many are now saying were made possible by a legislative sleight of hand orchestrated by the ruling party. The provision of the amended electoral act which is now a thorn in the flesh of the opposition parties and greatly unsettles them is Section 77(4)
Section 77(4) and related provisions of the amended law mandate all registered political parties to submit their digital membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, no later than April 2, 2026, as a precondition for participating in the elections. The opposition has raised concern over the seeming short period between commencement of membership registration and submission of digital membership registers to INEC, saying that a section of the amended electoral act is designed to handicap opposition, scheme them out and make it nearly impossible for them to mount any serious challenge at the election proper let alone stand the chance of ousting the incumbent from power.
While the opposition may want us to believe that the intrigues and shenanigans that exemplify the entire electoral amendment Bill were an elaborate plot by the APC to consolidate power and further weaken the beleaguered opposition, it is equally important to point out the lethargy and insouciance of the opposition, especially on matters that affect the survival and continuity of our democracy. The electoral act amendment Bill, before it was passed into law and assented to by the president last month, was the subject of intense deliberate and public hearing and went through different stages of reading and debate at the national assembly for more than a year before it was passed, not once during this arduous and cumbersome legislative procedure did the opposition parties or their members at the national assembly notice and point out these uncomfortable and worrisome provisions. It took the outrage and protest of Nigerians before the hugely controversial section 60(3) was revised to give room for the electronic transmission of results.
There is nothing sophisticated about the antics and chicanery the ruling party pulled with the electoral acts amendment Bill which appears to have now ambushed and cornered the opposition. What is largely now being attributed to a legislative sleight of hand which has left the opposition parties in limbo and a state of panic is a result of their own lack of vigilance and meticulousness. Their docility and jarring inability to be proactive and decisive when it hugely matters is what has now turned them into a motley crowd of bellyachers. An opposition can not afford to be laidback, lethargic and reactive in the way it goes about its operation, not less so when it is dealing with a hideously rapacious and ruthless ruling party that seldom plays fairly or plays by the rule cannot afford to be lethargic. One would expect that the opposition will pay keen attention to the actions, moves and decisions of the ruling party during the entire deliberation and legislative procedures of passing the electoral amendment Bill into law. For instance, the decision of the ruling party to start digital registration of its members late last year should have raised eyebrows among the leadership of the major opposition parties and they should have followed suit but they were too embroiled in needless politicking and neck deep in petty internal wrangling to know that the ruling party is putting place plans and structures to handicap them and render them utterly impotent.
It is now too late in the day for the opposition to cry blue murder. The 2026 Electoral Act Amendment Bill has assented to by the president and passed into law. They can either can their act together and use this hurriedly setting sun to dry whatever is left of their socked battered garment or they can continue whining and lamenting like a petulant child. One thing that has to be said is that as we hurtle cautiously and precariously towards the 2027 general elections, the markedly different methods the ruling party and the opposition parties have chosen to retain or gain power leave one with a sense of foreboding. A vicious and crafty ruling party against a docile and unimaginative opposition does not exactly inspire confidence and is definitely not a match-up that many Nigerians will be looking forward to.