The Presidency has launched a fierce attack on Nigeria’s opposition parties, telling them to halt their “constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage” over the recently amended Electoral Act and focus on fixing their own internal crises.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused leadership of the
opposition of making “reckless, spurious allegations” against President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government.
The response follows a press conference held earlier in the day in Abuja by a coalition of opposition leaders, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), who called for a fresh review of the electoral law.
Onanuga characterised the press conference as an attempt to manufacture controversy where none exists, accusing its leaders of prioritising media attention over substantive engagement with the electoral process.
He further suggested that opposition had aligned themselves with certain civil society organisations to disseminate what he described as misleading narratives about the National Assembly’s legislative intentions.
“The opposition, particularly the ADC, has turned irresponsible political statements into an art form, all in a bid to attract cheap headlines and mislead the public,” the statement read.
The bone of contention is the recent amendment to the Electoral Act, which allows for the real-time transmission of election results while retaining the use of Form EC8A as a backup in the event of network failure. The opposition has argued that this provision creates a loophole for potential manipulation.
The Presidency dismissed this claim as illogical, emphasising that the amendment was a practical response to the reality of network glitches in the country. Onanuga stressed that the role of the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) had been misrepresented by critics, clarifying that it is not a collation centre but a platform for uploading results for public viewing.
“Any reasonable Nigerian understands that network glitches are a real issue. The 2026 Electoral Act does not prohibit real-time transmission; it simply stipulates that if transmission fails, the result recorded on Form EC8A shall be deemed valid,” Onanuga explained.
The opposition had also rejected the inclusion of direct primaries and consensus candidacy in the amended act, preferring the delegate system. The Presidency expressed bewilderment at this stance, arguing that direct primaries return power to ordinary party members rather than a select few.
“We find it perplexing why the opposition is crying over the inclusion of direct primaries and consensus voting, rather than the corrupt delegate system they prefer. The opposition should be grateful to the National Assembly for removing delegate-based primaries and restoring party ownership to its members,” Onanuga said.
He further countered claims that the National Assembly ignored public input during the amendment process, citing the Senate Majority Leader’s assertion that lawmakers spent two years consulting stakeholders, technical experts, and millions of Nigerians.
The opposition leaders, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President David Mark, and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, had gathered at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja to demand a comprehensive review of the act. They argued that the current provisions undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
However, the Presidency dismissed these concerns as the antics of a “disorganised opposition” unable to come to terms with its own failings. Onanuga rejected allegations that President Tinubu aims to turn Nigeria into a one-party state, describing such claims as “cheap shots” that reveal the opposition’s hollowness.
“President Tinubu is a democrat—an opposition leader who, alongside like-minded individuals, led the charge to defeat the PDP in 2015. Nigeria is a vibrant multiparty democracy, with more than a dozen registered parties, including ADC and NNPP,” he stated.
The statement concluded with a sharp rebuke, accusing opposition leaders of crying foul simply because the rules of the game have been adjusted to prevent manipulation tactics they had allegedly perfected, such as result hacking.
“Rather than this constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage, ADC and NNPP leaders should spend more time on introspection and fix their own mess,” Onanuga said.
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