RingTrue with Yemi Adebowale, April 9, 2026 yemiadebowale@yahoo.com; 08054699539 (text only)
It was a deliberate and well-planed action to destroy opposition parties, months before the 2027 general election. I am talking about the bizarre Section 77 (2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates political parties to submit a comprehensive digital membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at least 21 days before their primaries. This weird law is happening for the first time in Nigeria’s political history. This is vampire politics. It has never happened in our 66 years as a country. For ages in this country, the business of INEC has always been with the register of voters, not the register of political parties’ members. This is also the global standard.
The obnoxious Section 77 (2) of the Electoral Act 2026 states further that membership registers to be submitted must contain name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, national identity number and photograph of members. Section 77 (5) added: “Only members whose names are contained in the register shall be eligible to vote and be voted for in party primaries, congresses and conventions of the political parties.” This also means once your name is not in the register submitted to INEC, you cannot be nominated for any position in the general election.
According to section 77(7), a party that fails to submit the membership register within the stipulated time “shall not be eligible to field candidates” in all elections to be conducted by INEC.
The dubious game plan became clearer when INEC unveiled its revised time table for the 2027 general election last month and directed political parties to comply with section 77(2) of the law by submitting their membership registers by April 21. This is nine clear months before the general election.
Those who packaged this Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, clearly had an agenda. They openly say that it is to make last-minute defections between political parties more difficult. Balderdash. Political movement is a democratic right. The real reason for Section 77 (2) is to make things more difficult for opposition parties. Clearly, the ruling APC packaged it. That was why it sailed through effortlessly in the APC- dominated National Assembly. President Bola Tinubu gladly signed it into law on February 18, 2026. The ruling APC won’t experience challenges with recalcitrant members. It can always use state power to quench dissent. So, it won’t have any problem meeting INEC’s deadline for the submission of membership register. It is not so with opposition parties. This is why unruly members are dragging these parties from one court to another.
The global standard is for political parties to maintain their membership register. They can continue to admit new members until the date for the submission of nominated candidates set by the umpire. The umpire focuses on the register of voters, updating and revalidating it. Now, with this Section 77 (2) of the Electoral Act 2026, political parties must stop admitting members nine clear months before the 2027 general election. Once the membership register is submitted on April 21, 2026 as directed by INEC in its revised time table, the political parties can’t take new members until after the 2027 general election. This is unfair, undemocratic and preposterous.
With the way things stand, political parties battling APC-inspired internal crisis may not meet INEC’s April 21 deadline for submission of membership register. The law states that any party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated time will not be allowed to field candidates for that election. It simply means the main opposition party, ADC, will not field candidates in the 2027 general election. The party’s case is still at the High Court level. All other opposition parties with APC-inspired internal crisis, and are still in court, may not be able to field candidate for the 2027 elections.
I am shocked that opposition parties in Nigeria did not tackle this notorious Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026, while still at the National Assembly. They could not see the danger in it. They were busy demanding for real time transmission of result. Section 77 is the most dangerous; more dangerous than the blocking of real time transmission of result. It is the biggest threat to our democracy. Section 77 aims to narrow democratic space ahead of the 2027 elections and shut foremost opposition parties out of the 2027 elections.
All opposition parties, human rights activists and pro-democracy activist must commence a big war against Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026. It must be repealed. The war must start now. Yes, it might be too late to delete it for the 2027 elections, but the war against it must start now.
Leave a comment