Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State and leader of the African Democratic Congress, the opposition alliance, has called on Nigerians to get ready to cast large numbers of ballots in 2027 in order to guarantee President Bola Tinubu’s loss.
Amaechi, who announced in August that he would like to run for president in 2027, claimed that Tinubu’s failure in Lagos State in 2023 demonstrated his vulnerability.
Amaechi and Seriake Dickson, a former governor of Bayelsa State, addressed at the First Daily newspaper’s fifth anniversary lecture on Monday in Abuja.
“2027: How can we make our votes count?” was the event’s topic.
In his message of goodwill, Amaechi warned that voter indifference and apathy allow electoral malpractice to flourish and urged Nigerians to vote in the upcoming elections to stop President Tinubu from winning a second term.
“The government is not the first solution to electoral reform,” he declared. The issue is people. Voter apathy increases with the number of times you claim they wrote the results. President Bola Tinubu will return to Villa due to voter apathy.
“Tell the people the power is in your hands,” Amaechi said, urging residents to take charge of the process. Get out. How did Tinubu lose in Lagos if he is so unbeatable?
It may be repeated, but you have to acknowledge that the individual there is not unbeatable first and foremost. The opposition is the issue.
“It is unrealistic to expect a government in power to implement an electoral reform,” he continued.
The lack of an incumbent government capable of enacting electoral reform is the issue with elections in Nigeria. Not one. He remarked, “We’ve already tried that and failed.
Amaechi claimed that attempts at reform are frequently thwarted by the political class’s vested interests.
The former minister of transportation also accused opposition parties of failing to come up with workable plans, pointing out that their capacity to oppose the ruling class is weakened by internal strife and a lack of concentration.
“I inform the opposition parties that you are the issue. How to save Nigeria is not being discussed by the opposition party. He said, “No one is saying, “Oh, things are horrible, how do we change the candidate?”
Dickson, the event’s chair, had earlier denounced what he called “the worst coup” against democracy and labeled it as the subversion of the people’s sovereignty through manipulated elections.
“We still have a long way to go in terms of safeguarding the people’s sovereignty as stated in our constitution, since Nigerians only exercise their right to sovereignty during elections.
The former governor clarified that “rigging elections is the worst coup you can plan.”
The senator from Bayelsa West went on to denounce politicians and government officials for manipulating election results.
“When politicians, governments, security agencies, and the electoral umpire itself collude and then cook election results that have no reference whatsoever to the people, that is the worst form of violation of the sovereignty of the people,” he stated.
To put it another way, people don’t even cast ballots; instead, their votes are recorded and attributed to them, and then they are told to go to court.
“In my opinion, those who have planned and executed that are the true coup plotters because it is a coup against democracy, against the nation, and against the sovereignty of the people.”
During his tenure, the former governor of Bayelsa claimed to have seen electoral malpractice.
“I witnessed all of this while serving as an opposition governor and fighting numerous battles to maintain my state in opposition. “My dear friends and fellow Nigerians, if we are honest, what the average Nigerian politician refers to as election planning is a conspiracy to commit crimes,” he declared.
In order to prevent result manipulation and uphold the will of the people, he encouraged the National Assembly to enhance electoral legislation.
In his keynote speech, Dr. Sam Amadi, the director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, criticized the country’s electoral system, denouncing what he called a growing entanglement between political power and election management.
According to Amadi, the current state of affairs has created a political climate where “everyone who has something to do with the management of electoral election is connected to the President.”
He bemoaned the apparent abandonment of the long-standing custom of selecting impartial and independent election administrators.
He said that “our elections are always rigged in one form or another,” citing structural factors including exorbitant campaign expenses, the huge benefits of holding public office, and a political economy that turns elections into “warfare.”
He claimed that even when people realize that national survival is at stake, this combination increases civic skepticism and lowers attendance.
The director stated, “A divided, impoverished society can only have a peaceful transition through free and fair elections.”
The speaker concluded with a useful call to action, encouraging targeted public pressure on organizations and players who have the power to alter results.
He specifically called for reform at INEC.
He declared, “INEC must be opened to scrutiny,” accusing judges, lawyers, and political parties of facilitating rigging.
Daniel Markson, the publisher of First Daily, bemoaned Nigeria’s bad international standing in his introductory remarks, saying, “There is a leadership issue in this country.” I am aware that there are leaders present. I’m not specifically blaming any of you, but let’s face it: we’ve failed. We’ve failed.
“My age is fifty-five. As awful as it sounds, I can’t recall ever working for Nigeria. Yes, I don’t recall ever having Nigeria work for me, and I don’t think I’ll live to see that day.
Markson blamed faulty elections for the nation’s leadership dilemma.
He declared that the following year, First Daily would launch a nationwide voter awareness campaign.
Since returning to civilian control in 1999, Nigeria has often struggled to hold credible elections.
Allegations of vote-buying, intimidation, and result manipulation have continued despite a number of improvements, such as the implementation of the Smart Card Reader in 2015 and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System in 2023.
President Bola Tinubu won the 2023 general elections, which were tainted by logistical problems, technological issues, and allegations of prejudice against the Independent National Electoral Commission.
In the run-up to the 2027 elections, the public’s faith has been damaged by these incidents, and many Nigerians are still unsure if their votes actually matter.
Political leaders, diplomats, and media executives gathered at the event to talk about Nigeria’s democracy’s future and the pressing need to restore the country’s electoral system’s integrity.3
