Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has warned that Nigeria risks another round of disputed elections and legitimacy crisis if the Electoral Act 2022 is not fundamentally overhauled before the 2027 general elections.
Adebayo gave the warning during an exclusive interview on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese Ijebu, where he criticised the ongoing amendment process at the National Assembly, describing it as superficial and dangerous to the country’s democratic future.
According to him, the current review of the Electoral Act falls short of genuine reform and fails to address the structural weaknesses that have continued to undermine credible elections in Nigeria.
“What they are doing is just an amendment, not a reform. Just minimal amendments,” Adebayo said.
He argued that serious electoral reform must include far-reaching changes, including non-partisan appointment of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the full adoption of technology in the electoral process.
“If we are truly serious about reform, we should go as far as ensuring that even the appointment of INEC officials is done by non-partisan bodies, just like in the United States. We should move into full electronic voting, because we already do electronic payments, electronic banking, electronic verification, electronic everything. Why should elections be the only thing we still do manually?” he asked.
Adebayo said real reform must also tackle campaign finance and political spending, which he described as a major source of corruption and manipulation in Nigerian elections.
“We should have reformed campaign finance to strictly limit how much money people can spend, and to make sure that any money spent on politics is fully transparent, who gave it, where it came from, and how it was spent. That is what reform means,” he stated.
He expressed concern that some of the proposed amendments before the National Assembly could further weaken electoral accountability rather than strengthen it.
“Some of the amendments are even taking us backwards,” Adebayo said. “They are trying to reduce the number of days for election notices, and they are reducing punishments for election offenders, people who buy votes, people who sell votes, people who commit electoral violence. That is not reform. That is regression.”
The former SDP presidential candidate said public anger over the amendment process was largely driven by attempts to weaken provisions for real-time electronic transmission of election results.
“Even the basic thing that we need, electronic transmission of results immediately after counting, they are opposing it. That is why Nigerians are angry. That is why people are up in arms,” he said.
Clarifying the issue, Adebayo said critics have deliberately misrepresented the demand for electronic transmission.
“We are not asking for electronic voting. We are asking for electronic transmission of results. There is a huge difference,” he explained. “After voting, results are written and copies are given to party agents and security agencies. All we are saying is take a snapshot of that result and upload it immediately so nobody can alter it later.”
He identified result collation after voting as the major point where electoral fraud occurs in Nigeria.
“The real problem starts when results leave the polling unit and move to ward and local government collation centres. That is where figures are switched, inflated or mutilated. By the time the result reaches Abuja, it has changed many times,” Adebayo said.
According to him, electronic transmission would close that loophole completely.
“Once the result is uploaded from the polling unit, it becomes tamper-proof. You cannot bribe anybody to change it. It is already on the central server for all Nigerians to see,” he added.
Drawing from his experience in the 2023 election, Adebayo alleged discrepancies between polling unit figures and final announced results in several states.
“In Kwara State, the votes I got at polling units were about 122,000, but the figure announced was 22,000. If results had been transmitted electronically from the beginning, that kind of thing would not happen,” he said.
On his response to protests against the proposed amendments, Adebayo said he chose advocacy and engagement over street demonstrations.
“I was in television studios, speaking, explaining, educating. I was also calling senators one by one to warn them. Everybody has a role,” he said.
He stressed that the struggle for credible elections is not about political ambition but about protecting voters.
“This is not about politicians. It is about voters. This injury is not to me as a candidate. It is to Nigerians who want their votes to count,” he said.
Adebayo also dismissed claims of an opposition coalition, noting that electoral integrity is a non-partisan issue.
“There is no opposition coalition. Everybody is in their own political party. But free and fair elections concern everyone,” he said.
Beyond electoral matters, Adebayo painted a grim picture of the Nigerian economy, describing it as being in serious decline.
“Government finances are in deep crisis. They are running deficits of over ₦25 trillion. They cannot meet revenue targets. They cannot implement budgets,” he said, adding that businesses and households are struggling to survive amid inflation and unemployment.
He criticised what he described as fiscal indiscipline in budget implementation, saying multiple budgets are being run simultaneously without accountability.
“You cannot be in SS1, SS2 and SS3 at the same time. It makes no sense,” he said.
On his political future, Adebayo confirmed that he would contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the SDP.
“Whether zoning favours me or not, I will run. I have informed my party already,” he said, ruling out any plan to defect to another party.
He concluded by stressing that credible elections are the foundation of functional democracy.
“If we have free and fair elections, Nigerians must accept the consequences of their choices. Whatever finger you use to vote, that is the result you will get,” Adebayo said.
“That is why I am fighting so hard for credible elections. Once we get that right, democracy will begin to work.”
