Echoes In An Empty Hall: Why The Opposition’s Post-Mortem Protest Can’t Resurrect Democracy
By Oto’ Drama, PhD.
IN the hallowed halls of Nigeria’s power, democracy is not being defended; it is being dismantled with surgical precision.
The swift assent of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026—signed into law a mere 24 hours after its legislative passage—marks a watershed moment in the nation’s political history.
But as the ink dries on a document that critics label a “blueprint for institutionalized rigging,” a darker narrative emerges: the story of an opposition that barked too late and bit not at all.
The Legislative Coup: Manual Shadows and Electronic Voids
The crux of the controversy lies in the deliberate ambiguity of the new law. While the digital age demands transparency, the 2026 Act retreats into the fog of manual collation.
Opposition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, converged in Abuja this week to sound a desperate alarm. Their primary grievance? Section 60(3), which grants the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the discretion to revert to manual transmission in the event of “network failure.”
In a nation boasting over 90% internet coverage, this provision is viewed by many as a Trojan Horse for manipulation—a “rigging plan” designed to bypass the IREV portal and the real-time scrutiny of the Nigerian voter.
The Opposition’s Great Undoing: A Case of Fatal Inertia
While the outcry from the PDP, ADC, and NNPP is loud, it is also “painfully pathetic” in its timing. The tragedy of the current political impasse is that it was entirely preventable.
For months, civil society advocates and lone political voices tugged at the gates of the National Assembly, pleading for a preemptive strike against the bill. Yet, the major opposition blocs remained trapped in a state of “invasiveness” and tactical lethargy.
Rather than joining Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi in a unified, physical, and political blockade of the National Assembly—effectively “stamping the boots” of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House—the PDP and ADC allowed the legislative clock to run out.
By the time the coalition gathered for their “global press briefing” in Abuja, the gavel had already fallen. Their voices, though principled, now echo in a room where the doors have already been locked from the outside.
The Akpabio-Tinubu Axis: Party Loyalty vs. Public Trust
The recent clash between analysts Reuben Abati and Rufai Oseni highlights the systemic rot within the separation of powers. While Abati argues that party loyalty makes Akpabio’s subservience to the Presidency “realistic,” Oseni’s counterpoint strikes at the heart of the crisis: a Senate that serves the President’s interests is not a Senate; it is an extension of the Executive.
This “loyalist legislature” has effectively neutralized the checks and balances intended by the 1999 Constitution. With the 2026 Act now law, the ruling APC has successfully lowered the bridge for a 2027 “coronation” rather than a contest.
The ECOWAS Court: A Slow Path to Nowhere?
In a last-ditch effort, the opposition has turned to the ECOWAS Court. However, seasoned political observers view this move with cynical exhaustion. The “axe of justice” in regional courts grinds notoriously slow—often outpaced by the rapid-fire maneuvers of a determined administration.
With corruption allegations and bureaucratic delays dogging regional judicial bodies, there is little hope for a redeeming judgment before Tinubu’s potential tenure draws to a close. By 2031, the damage to the nation’s democratic ethos may be conclusive. The right of the people to transparently elect their leaders is not just being threatened; it is being tamed and foreclosed.
If the 2026 Electoral Act remains the law of the land, the 2027 elections will be a mere formality—a charade enabled by a law that replaces the voter’s thumbprint with the administrator’s pen.
The opposition’s failure to act swiftly when the gates were still open has left them shouting at the walls. As Nigeria drifts toward a de facto one-party state, the lesson is clear: in the defense of democracy, silence is the ultimate collaborator, and delay is the ultimate defeat.
_Dr. Drama, PhD Counterterrorism contributed this piece via: Nigeriandrama@gmail.com
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