By Muhyideen Jimoh
The Presidency on Thursday cautioned opposition parties against what it described as disinformation on the amended Electoral Act and the APC-led Federal Government.
Presidential spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement titled ” Opposition parties should stop constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage against the Electoral Act and the APC government”.
Onanuga stated that some opposition figures, including members of the ADC and NNPP, made allegations against President Bola Tinubu and the APC-led Federal Government.
He described the claims as misleading and aimed at discrediting the National Assembly and the administration.
According to him, the amended law provides for real-time transmission of results, with Form EC8A serving as a backup in the event of network failure.
“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,” he said.
He added that the IReV portal was not a collation centre but a platform for uploading results for public viewing.
The presidency also defended the inclusion of direct primaries and consensus options for selecting party candidates.
He said the removal of delegate-based primaries would strengthen internal democracy and return ownership of parties to members.
“The opposition’s claim that the National Assembly ignored Nigerians’ wishes is false,” he said.
According to him, the National Assembly engaged stakeholders and experts over two years before passing the amendment.
He dismissed allegations that the administration was pursuing a one-party state.
“Nigeria remains a vibrant multi-party democracy with more than a dozen registered parties,” Onanuga said.
He urged the opposition parties to desist from what he termed constant lamentation and unwarranted outrage over the new law.
The presidential aide stressed that the amended Act strengthens the electoral framework and closes loopholes in the repealed legislation.
(NAN)
