KEY POINTS

• Atiku Abubakar has accused the Senate of delaying amendments to the Electoral Act 2022, warning this could jeopardise the 2027 elections.

• He said loopholes in the current law enabled malpractice during the 2023 polls and weakened the ability of courts to address electoral disputes.

• Atiku called for urgent legislative reforms to strengthen transparency, accountability and public confidence ahead of future elections.

Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, has accused the Nigerian Senate of purposefully obstructing attempts to amend the Electoral Act 2022 and warned that the legitimacy of the general elections in 2027 could be gravely jeopardized if loopholes are not fixed.

Atiku claimed that the unresolved flaws in the current electoral system were a major factor in the controversies that followed the 2023 general elections in a statement he posted on his official X account on Thursday. He contended that Nigeria runs the risk of making the same mistakes in upcoming elections if immediate legislative action is not taken.

Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, has accused the Nigerian Senate of purposefully obstructing attempts to amend the Electoral Act 2022 and warned that the legitimacy of the general elections in 2027 could be gravely jeopardized if loopholes are not fixed.

Atiku claimed that the unresolved flaws in the current electoral system were a major factor in the controversies that followed the 2023 general elections in a statement he posted on his official X account on Thursday. He contended that Nigeria runs the risk of making the same mistakes in upcoming elections if immediate legislative action is not taken.

Call for urgent legislative review ahead of 2027

The former vice president said that there wasn’t much time left for real reforms and that the laws that govern elections need to be looked at well before the next general election.

He said that putting off the changes until the election season gets closer would make people less confident and raise political tension. He also said that credible elections are essential for national stability and democratic legitimacy.

“It is imperative that if the mistakes of the 2023 election are to be corrected, the legal instrument for the conduct of the 2027 and subsequent future elections needs to be reviewed,” Atiku said.