The Presidency on Thursday cautioned opposition political parties against what it described as persistent lamentation and unwarranted outrage over the amended Electoral Act and the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement issued in Abuja, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused opposition parties — particularly the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) — of making what he termed reckless and spurious allegations to attract public attention and mislead Nigerians.
Onanuga alleged that some prominent opposition figures recently gathered in the Federal Capital Territory and made unfounded claims against the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, the opposition has “turned irresponsible political statements into an art form,” accusing them of collaborating with certain civil society groups to spread disinformation against the National Assembly and the Federal Government.
Addressing the controversy surrounding the amended Electoral Act 2022, the Presidency said the National Assembly introduced provisions for real-time electronic transmission of election results while retaining Form EC8A as a backup in cases of technical or network failure.
It dismissed claims that the continued use of Form EC8A creates loopholes for manipulation, describing such allegations as illogical.
“The law does not prohibit real-time transmission. It only provides that where transmission fails due to network glitches, the result recorded on Form EC8A shall be deemed valid,” the statement said.
The Presidency also clarified the function of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Results Viewing Portal (IReV), explaining that it is not a collation centre but a public platform for uploading polling unit results. It maintained that Form EC8 remains the primary legal document for validating election outcomes.
Reacting to objections over direct primaries, the Presidency expressed surprise that political parties would oppose broader participation of their members in candidate selection processes, rather than rely solely on delegate systems.
It argued that direct primaries and consensus options strengthen internal party democracy and return ownership of political parties to their members, noting that similar processes exist in other presidential democracies.
The statement further rejected claims that the National Assembly ignored public input in amending the law, asserting that lawmakers conducted extensive consultations with stakeholders, experts and citizens over a two-year period before finalising the amendments.
Dismissing allegations that President Tinubu intends to steer Nigeria toward a one-party state, the Presidency described the claim as baseless, emphasising that Nigeria remains a multiparty democracy with over a dozen registered political parties.
The Presidency maintained that the amended Electoral Act improves on the previous version by closing identified gaps and enhancing electoral integrity. It urged opposition parties to focus on strengthening their internal structures instead of engaging in what it termed “constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage.”
