From Victor Osula, Abuja
Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Dr. Sam Amadi, has warned that Nigeria’s 2027 general elections risk being rendered meaningless if the ruling of the Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal is allowed to stand.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, Amadi expressed grave concern over the April 2 judgment, which upheld the election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the September 2024 Edo governorship poll, despite what he termed “overwhelming evidence of malpractice”.
“If the judiciary allows what happened in Edo on September 21, 2024, to go unchallenged, then the 2027 elections—and those beyond—may become meaningless rituals, disguising the imposition of candidates as democratic choice,” Amadi warned.
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of manipulating results and flouting provisions of the Electoral Act.
He cited INEC’s alleged failure to document serial numbers of sensitive materials such as ballot papers and result sheets, contrary to Section 73(2) of the Act.
Amadi also criticised the tribunal for rejecting key pieces of evidence on technical grounds, despite what he described as glaring inconsistencies between results uploaded to INEC’s IReV portal and the final declared figures.
“In some polling units, the IReV showed the APC scored 31 votes, yet INEC declared 431 using unsigned result sheets,” he stated.
He questioned why the court failed to compel INEC to operate the BVAS machines during proceedings, despite ordering their presentation as exhibits.
“The irony is that it was the court that ordered INEC to produce the BVAS machines. Why then did the court not mandate INEC to demonstrate the operation of the machines in court? Why should INEC’s failure become the burden of victims of electoral malpractice?” Amadi queried.
He described the situation as one in which the system seems “rigged to protect itself”, allowing INEC to evade accountability while punishing victims of electoral manipulation.
Amadi stressed that the Abuja School remains a non-partisan institution committed to the defence of Nigeria’s democracy.
“This is not a PDP versus APC issue. It is INEC versus the Nigerian people. And unfortunately, it now appears that the judiciary is complicit in enabling this subversion of democracy,” he stated.
He called on appellate courts to thoroughly review the tribunal’s decision and urged them to overturn the ruling, warning that continued judicial silence in the face of electoral irregularities could erode public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
