Former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Festus Okoye, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for what he described as a hasty decision to sign the Electoral Act 2026 into law without first referring the bill to the Attorney General of the Federation and the Chairman of INEC for their input.
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In an exclusive interview with tribuneonline Weekend, Okoye, a lawyer who served as INEC National Commissioner between July 2018 and July 2023, provided a comprehensive and critical assessment of the new electoral law, highlighting both its merits and what he described as significant flaws that could undermine the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
Okoye noted that the National Assembly Conference Committee on Electoral Matters completed its work on Monday, February 16, 2026. Both chambers discussed and approved the committee’s recommendations on Tuesday, February 17, and the President signed the bill into law the very next day, Wednesday, February 18.
The former commissioner argued that the President should have exercised the 30-day window provided under Section 58(4) of the Constitution to refer the bill to the Attorney General, as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, and to INEC, as one of the federal executive bodies established under Section 153 of the Constitution.
He noted that this was particularly important given that INEC Chairman Professor Joash O.A. Amupitan SAN had, just days earlier on February 13, announced the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections. The Commission, which will implement most of the law’s provisions, should not have been faced with a fait accompli, Okoye argued.
However, he acknowledged that the President also faced pressure from the other side, as the National Assembly had spent over two years working on the bill, and delays caused by partisan debates had already created electoral uncertainty.
Okoye expressed concern that several retroactive provisions in the new Act undermine its overall value.
The Act reduced the mandatory period for releasing election funds to INEC from one year to six months before a general election, a change Okoye said would hinder proper planning of electoral activities. It also shortened the notice period for elections from 360 days to 300 days, reduced the timeframe for submitting lists of candidates from 180 days to 120 days despite INEC’s request for 210 days, and cut the period for publishing nominations from 150 days to 90 days.
Okoye noted that the National Assembly justified these reductions by stating that INEC had already issued its timetable under the Electoral Act 2022, but argued that the compressed timelines could affect the quality of electoral preparation.
The former commissioner addressed the fierce controversy that surrounded the provision on electronic transmission of election results, which nearly derailed the bill’s passage.
He explained that the House of Representatives had proposed mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results to the IREV portal simultaneously with physical collation, a version supported by most Nigerians. The Senate, however, largely favoured the existing provision from the Electoral Act 2022, which gave INEC discretion over the manner of transmission.
The compromise adopted in Section 60(3) of the new Act requires the Presiding Officer to electronically transmit results after Form EC8A has been signed and stamped, but includes a proviso that if electronic transmission fails due to communication failure, Form EC8A shall remain the primary source for collation and declaration of results.
Okoye noted that as far back as 2018, a joint INEC-NCC technical committee had found that mobile networks adequately covered 93 per cent of INEC polling units with capacity to cover the remaining seven per cent, suggesting that the infrastructure for electronic transmission was already largely in place.
He observed that many Nigerians felt the ruling class did not want electronic transmission of results, preferring an opaque electoral system that could be manipulated.
In one of his most alarming observations, Okoye highlighted the removal of a key ground for challenging election results. Section 134(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 had allowed elections to be challenged on the ground that a person was not qualified to contest at the time of the election. Section 138 of the new Act removed this ground entirely.
Okoye warned that this effectively means that if a candidate enters the ballot with a fake or forged certificate, they are protected from prosecution through an election petition. Furthermore, under Section 29 of the Act, only an aspirant who participated in party primaries can challenge the qualification of a nominated candidate — meaning that in the absence of such a challenge, a forger could potentially become a lawmaker or assume the highest office in the land.
Addressing opposition parties’ claims that Section 77, which requires parties to submit digital membership registers to INEC before primaries, was designed as an ambush to benefit the ruling APC, Okoye pushed back strongly.
He noted that the provision was not entirely new, as the Electoral Act 2022 already required parties to maintain membership registers. The only addition in the new Act is the imposition of sanctions for non-compliance, including the loss of the right to field candidates.
Okoye described those opposing the provision as seasonal nomadic political migrants, platform consultants, merchants, and lobby rangers who have no interest in building genuine political parties. He argued that if parties are merely platforms that people can switch at any moment, it would be better to have independent candidacy rather than allowing people to sacrifice their party’s interests.
Okoye agreed that the mode of conducting party primaries should remain entirely within the control of political parties, noting that the Electoral Act should not dictate how parties organize their internal processes.
He recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari had rejected the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 partly because it mandated only direct primaries, citing adverse legal, financial, economic, and security consequences. Okoye said he agreed with that position and added that political parties must be left to find their bearings and adopt the primary system they desire.
Okoye pointed out a drafting inconsistency in the Act, noting that while Section 47(2) designates the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System as part of the electoral process, replacing the Smart Card Reader, Section 62(6)(b) inadvertently retains references to the Smart Card Reader.
He cautioned against specifying particular brands or versions of technology in legislation, noting that technology continues to evolve and it would be impractical to amend the law every time new technology is introduced.
On the threat by the Inter-Party Advisory Council to boycott the 2027 elections unless the Electoral Act is amended, Okoye was dismissive, noting that IPAC is not a recognised political party and lacks the authority to bind any of Nigeria’s parties. He described many of its member organizations as opportunistic platforms that only become active during elections.
Asked about the technical glitches that marred the upload of 2023 presidential election results to the IREV portal, Okoye said he did not have an insider’s view of what transpired but acknowledged that the challenges diminished the impact of INEC’s thorough preparation. He cited the presidential election tribunal’s finding that the inability to upload results in real time was not deliberate but caused by technical issues described as an “HTTP 500 error.”
The former commissioner’s wide-ranging critique of the Electoral Act 2026 adds a weighty voice to the growing debate over whether the new law is fit for purpose as Nigeria prepares for what promises to be one of its most consequential election cycles.
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