The Rescue Nigeria Alliance (RNA) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the amended Electoral Act into law, describing the move as a setback for Nigeria’s democratic progress and a threat to electoral transparency.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the group expressed concern that the new amendments weaken key accountability measures at a time when public confidence in the electoral process remains fragile.
Central to the Alliance’s criticism is the provision relating to electronic transmission of results. According to RNA, the amended law fails to make real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units to the central database of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) mandatory, leaving what it described as a critical transparency safeguard to discretion.
The group argued that this approach could create room for opacity, manipulation, and post-election disputes.
“Democracy is sustained not merely by the act of voting, but by public confidence in the electoral process,” the statement said. “Any legislation that dilutes transparency erodes that confidence and deepens political mistrust across the federation.”
The RNA maintained that electoral reforms should strengthen, rather than weaken, mechanisms that promote openness and verifiability. It further called for technology-driven safeguards in elections to be compulsory in order to guarantee credible outcomes.
The Alliance urged that any amendment perceived to undermine public trust should be subjected to immediate review through what it described as an inclusive and consultative national process.
Calling on civil society organisations, political actors, and citizens to remain vigilant, the group said Nigeria’s democracy must not be weakened by legislative or executive actions that could compromise the credibility of future general elections.
The statement was signed by Chief Tochukwu Ezeoke, Publicity Secretary of the Rescue Nigeria Alliance.
