SDP’s Adebayo slams Tinubu over Electoral Act amendments, warns of heightened manipulation risk
By Henry Nnaemeka
Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has faulted recent amendments to the Electoral Act signed by President Bola Tinubu, alleging that the changes weaken transparency in Nigeria’s electoral process.
In a statement posted on his verified X handle, @Pres_Adebayo, the SDP chieftain criticised the Federal Government for what he described as prioritising “loopholes over transparency,” particularly in relation to the electronic transmission of election results.
Adebayo argued that although electronic transmission has not been scrapped entirely, the amended provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act have made it discretionary rather than compulsory — a shift he said could erode the credibility of future polls.
“I was in Abuja and saw the anger of the Nigerian people after the government approved revisions to the 2022 Electoral Act,” he wrote. “What should have been mandatory, real-time transmission has been left open to discretion. That loophole matters.”
According to him, making electronic transmission optional effectively reverts the process to manual collation as the default method, increasing the risk of manipulation and undermining public confidence.
“When electronic transmission is optional, manual collation of results becomes the practical default. And when results move through opaque channels, trust in the process is damaged,” he said.
Adebayo described the signing of the amended law as a setback for democratic integrity, accusing the administration of shielding itself from scrutiny.
“Removing the mandatory electronic transmission makes it easier to manipulate the results — and that is unacceptable,” he stated, adding that the move represents “a blow against the very essence of Nigerian democracy.”
He further maintained that Nigeria should be progressing toward full electronic voting rather than scaling back technological safeguards. He noted that electronic systems are widely trusted in banking, commerce and communication, questioning why similar standards should not apply to elections.
“When votes are transmitted transparently and in real time, there is a record. There is verification. There is accountability,” he said.
Despite the amendments, Adebayo urged Nigerians to continue demanding transparency and fairness in the electoral system.
“The law may have changed, but the demand for transparency has not,” he added.
The Electoral Act amendments have generated debate among political actors and civil society organisations, with some critics warning that altering the electronic transmission framework could affect public confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
