The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the conduct of the recent by-elections held across 13 states, alleging that the exercise was characterised by widespread violence, vote-buying, and electoral manipulation.
ADC condemnation comes hours after President Bola Tinubu congratulated the winners of the by-elections held on Saturday, August 16, across 16 constituencies in the states.
Tinubu praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a smooth and largely violence-free exercise.
However, ADC expressed deep concern that the flaws signal a significant decline in Nigeria’s democratic process under the current administration.
In a statement issued Sunday, ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, stated that the by-elections were not an accurate measure of the opposition’s strength, given that the party did not field candidates in most of the contested positions.
Instead, he described the exercise as a reflection of how corrupted the electoral system has become against the will of the people.
According to Abdullahi, the elections witnessed numerous instances of violence, with nearly 300 armed thugs arrested in some states.
He questioned whether the events were a display of democracy or “banditry disguised as voting.”
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In some areas, entire polling units were canceled due to ballot box snatching and voter intimidation, which Abdullahi argued violates the fundamental covenant between the state and its citizens.
He also highlighted what it called the “political culture” of vote-buying, citing an incident where an individual was caught with N25.9 million intended to buy votes.
Abdullahi expressed alarm that election officials were also implicated in similar inducements, suggesting the malpractice is no longer isolated.
He also raised concerns about the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), whose failure in some states has once again led to questions about the competence and sincerity of the electoral commission.
Abdullahi insisted that Nigerians deserve elections that command public confidence and global respect, and urged the commission not to use excuses as a code of conduct.
Viewing the by-elections as a “dress rehearsal for 2027”, Abdullahi warned Nigerians and the international community to be prepared if the trends of violence, corruption, candidate exclusion, and complicity from security forces become the new norm.
He called on Tinubu to rise above partisan interests and demonstrate leadership by ensuring Nigerians can cast their votes freely and safely.
Abdullahi stressed that no government can claim legitimacy if it consistently presides over elections perceived as fraudulent by both citizens and the international community.
