PDP Slams National Assembly Over Electoral Act Amendment, Calls It a Betrayal of Nigerians

|By Adejumo Adekunle

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment by the National Assembly, branding it “anti-democratic” and a betrayal of Nigerians.

PDP spokesman Ini Ememobong issued the rebuke in a statement on Wednesday, accusing the Senate and House of Representatives of reneging on the public’s demand for mandatory electronic transmission of election results from polling units.

Ememobong described the lawmakers’ actions as a “calculated betrayal” of the electorate, striking at the heart of democracy and undermining electoral integrity. “The National Assembly has shown blatant disdain for the Nigerian people who entrusted them with legislative power,” he said.

He dismissed the lawmakers’ explanations as “weak, illogical, and insulting to the intelligence of Nigerians,” warning that diluting transparency mechanisms ahead of elections paves the way for electoral manipulation.

The PDP spokesman further criticized the amendment’s restriction of party primaries to Direct and Consensus methods, calling it an unlawful interference in political parties’ autonomy. “The Supreme Court has consistently affirmed that political parties have the right to manage their internal processes. This provision is therefore ultra vires and condemnable,” Ememobong said.

The party urged Nigerians, organised labour, and civil society organisations to mobilize legally against what it termed the National Assembly’s anti-democratic moves, emphasizing that “this hard-won democracy must not suffer decline at the hands of retrogressive politicians masquerading as legislators.”