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The Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Ireti Kingibe, says every aspect of the Electoral Act document has been turned upside down.
Kingibe made this known on Monday during an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.
The lawmaker said she was on the Committee for Electoral Reforms, noting that most items in the Act were not in the original one.
She said, “What they presented was not in the original one. I spoke to somebody about it. I said, I can show you the documents I have.
“In what election have we ever conducted, where INEC ballot papers did not have security measures that you can bring any type of ballot paper vote with it. It’s never happened.
“And so when somebody was mentioning to me, I said no, I didn’t see that part. It couldn’t have been there.
“I was on the committee for the electoral reforms. Two years we worked on a document that was acceptable, and we did bi-camera sitting.
“So it was not just the Senate; the Senate and the House of Representatives sat, as well as with INEC and some CSOs and came up with a document that we felt would give us free and fair election. We brought it and every aspect of it was turned upside down.”
The national chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, David Mark, has warned that Nigeria is drifting toward a one-party system, accusing the All Progressives Congress, APC, of weakening opposition parties and democratic institutions in the country.
Speaking at the National Opposition Summit on Saturday in Ibadan, Mark alleged that ongoing political developments were aimed at limiting Nigerians’ ability to freely choose their leaders and consolidating power within a single dominant party structure.
He said opposition parties have faced sustained pressure in recent years, warning that such trends could threaten democratic balance if not checked.
Mark also raised concerns about electoral credibility, claiming that public confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declined due to perceived lack of neutrality.
He urged opposition parties to prioritise unity and coalition-building, stressing that no single party can effectively challenge what he described as a highly entrenched political system.
According to him, the opposition must move beyond personal ambition and work collectively to safeguard democratic processes and ensure credible elections.
Mark warned that the current political direction could have long-term implications for Nigeria’s democratic system if corrective steps are not taken.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has shifted its presidential primary election to Saturday, May 23, 2026.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Durosinmi Meseko, disclosed this after the 186th meeting of the party’s National Working Committee NWC on Thursday in Abuja.
Meseko, who was accompanied to the briefing by the party’s National Leader of Persons with Disabilities, Tolu Bankole, said the new schedule supersedes an earlier timetable published only days ago and has been formally communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in line with extant regulations.
Under the revised calendar, the sale of nomination forms begins this Saturday, April 25, and runs until Saturday, May 2, 2026. Completed forms and accompanying documents must be submitted no later than Monday, May 4.
Screening of aspirants for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, and Governorship will hold between Wednesday, May 6 and Friday, May 8, while Presidential aspirants will face their screening panel on Saturday, May 9. Screening results across all categories will be published on Monday, May 11, with appeals to be heard on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 12 and 13.
Primary elections will then roll out in sequence: House of Representatives on Friday, May 15; Senate on Monday, May 18; State House of Assembly on Wednesday, May 20; Governorship on Thursday, May 21; and the Presidential primary on Saturday, May 23. Post-primary appeal committees will sit in the days immediately following each primary.
The NWC also adopted a dual-mode primary system — direct and consensus — as provided in the Electoral Act, with a significant condition attached.
Aspirants are free to indicate their preference, but where any single aspirant in a consensus arrangement withholds agreement, the process automatically reverts to direct primaries.
Meseko moved to put to rest what he described as a rumour that nomination forms would be restricted to certain individuals. “Nomination forms for all aspirants seeking offices under the All Progressives Congress are open,” he declared. “Nomination forms are open for all members of the All Progressives Congress contesting elections.”
