The Arewa Consultative Forum on Thursday reacted to President Bola Tinubu’s swift assent to the controversial 2026 Electoral Bill, describing the move as a necessary step ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The northern socio-cultural group, however, demanded the immediate release of the full contents of the law, saying Nigerians had only seen “snippets” of the document.
ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, made the position known to our correspondent in Kaduna.
He said that although the President’s assent appeared hurried, the legislation addressed time-bound electoral processes that could not be delayed.
“The Electoral Bill as assented to by the President, as hurried as it may seem, deals with processes of the electoral system which are time-bound,” he said.
Muhammad-Baba added, “Given that we are just about a year to the 2027 General Elections, the time to put the law in place is a critical, even non-negotiable step.”
The bill has generated public debate, particularly over provisions relating to the mode of transmission of election results.
Muhammad-Baba noted that beyond the contentious issue of results transmission, the public was yet to see the full details of the legislation.
“The general public, including the ACF, has to date only snippets of the Bill. Outside of the contentious issue that emerged recently, that is, provisions regarding the mode of transmission of election results, we would like to see the contents of the full Bill, warts and all,” he said.
He stressed that until the complete document was made available, stakeholders would have to rely on the information currently in the public domain.
“For now, we have to work with what is on the ground,” he added.
The ACF spokesman also addressed allegations that certain provisions in bills passed by the National Assembly were sometimes altered before presidential assent.
He urged lawmakers to exercise vigilance and ensure that the final versions of bills accurately reflected legislative decisions.
“However, again with regards to allegations of tampering of provisions in bills passed by the National Assembly, it remains for all to urge patriotic National Assembly members to scrutinise the Bills very well so as to ensure the fidelity of their decisions,” he said.
Muhammad-Baba warned that, given what he described as the desperation of political actors, no aspect of the electoral process should be taken for granted.
“Given the obvious desperation of political actors, absolutely nothing should be left to chance or taken for granted. The destiny of the country is at stake, and all citizens must stay alert,” he stated.
