The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised Senate President Godswill Akpabio over comments dismissing the opposition’s objections to the Electoral Act 2026, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of promoting a system that rewards dishonesty.

While speaking during a reception for the wife of the President, Mrs. Remi Tinubu, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Saturday, Akpabio said he was confident he had made the right law whenever opposition parties complained about legislation passed by the National Assembly.

However, reacting in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said opposition parties do not complain for the sake of it but because provisions had been inserted into the law that were designed to cripple other political parties, undermine Nigeria’s democracy, and damage the country’s global reputation.

The party said the Senate President should indeed expect the harsh judgment of history for his role in pushing through the 2026 Electoral Act, particularly the provision that removes certificate forgery as a ground for challenging election results.

According to the statement: “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has taken note of the recent comments credited to the Senate President, His Excellency Godswill Akpabio, in which he dismissed the opposition’s complaints about the 2026 Electoral Act as evidence that he and the Senate he leads have made the right laws.

“In other words, if the laws had been agreeable to the opposition and did not elicit any complaint, those would have been the wrong laws.

“The embedded logic of this statement exposes the subterfuge behind the entire business of the Electoral Amendment. It was all designed to make the ruling party and the President happy.”
The party argued that laws are ordinarily amended to improve governance and promote national interest, not to weaken democratic institutions.

“Amendments are made to laws in order to make them better in meeting national aspirations and advancing the collective best interests of citizens towards achieving a better society.

“It is only in a rogue democracy—or more precisely, in a kakistocracy such as the one we are in today—that the legislature would sit down to make laws that actually lower society’s ethical standards.”
The ADC further questioned how any lawmaker could be comfortable presiding over legislation that removes certificate forgery as grounds for challenging an election.

“How can any self-respecting person be happy with himself for presiding over the making of a law that now says the election of an individual can no longer be challenged on the grounds of certificate forgery as provided in Section 138 of the Electoral Act 2026, even though this directly contradicts Sections 66, 107, 137 and 182 of the Constitution, which clearly disqualify anyone who has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from holding public office?”

According to the party, the amended legislation creates a serious constitutional conflict and reflects how far the ruling party is willing to go to protect its interests.

“This legislation does not only create a troubling constitutional conflict, it also shows how far a desperate political party like the APC would go in dragging the country down to its level.

“It is difficult to imagine a more damaging message to send to Nigerians—particularly to young people—than the suggestion that certificate forgery should no longer have serious consequences.”

The party further criticised lawmakers for passing what it described as legislation that appears to shield dishonesty.

“What kind of lawmakers gather together to conceive, deliberate and pass legislation that appears designed to protect dishonesty rather than punish it?

“Such actions do not only weaken our democracy; they also lower the moral estimation of our country in the eyes of the world and reinforce the dangerous stereotype that corruption is acceptable in Nigerian public life.”

The ADC added that while Akpabio is free to comment on opposition activities, Nigerians will ultimately judge political leaders by their records in office.

“If Senator Akpabio wishes to concern himself with the activities of the opposition, that is his choice. However, Nigerians will ultimately judge leaders not by their ridicule of the opposition, but by their record.”