ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said Nigeria’s future elections must represent a clear improvement on past polls, warning that public confidence in the electoral process is wearing thin amid declining voter participation.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, made the remark on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he linked electoral credibility to democratic consolidation.
According to him, only 26 per cent of registered voters participated in the last general election, a figure he described as troubling evidence of widespread voter apathy.
“The idea of democratic consolidation means that every election, every future election, should be better than the previous one in every material respect,” Ememobong said.
He noted that recent judicial pronouncements had exposed weaknesses in Nigeria’s electoral framework, stressing that responsibility now lies squarely with the National Assembly to address the gaps.
Ememobong referenced the Supreme Court’s judgment on electoral disputes, saying the apex court had clearly identified lacunae in the system and returned the matter to lawmakers for corrective legislation.
“If the Supreme Court in its judgment has identified the lacuna and passed the ball back to the National Assembly, the most primary duty is to legislate appropriately for the administration of this country,” he said.
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His comments came amid controversy surrounding a proposed bill by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking to mandate the electronic transmission of election results.
Ememobong cautioned against underestimating Nigerians’ patience, warning that persistent disregard for electoral integrity could provoke serious consequences.
“Nigerians are very patient people. You push them to the wall, they begin to make a hole in the wall, but somehow their minds change and you find them coming out straight for you. It happened during End SARS,” he said.
He urged lawmakers and the political class to treat the proposed Electoral Act amendment with the urgency it deserves, describing it as a long-awaited reform.
“My appeal is that the legislators, and indeed the entire political class, should not take Nigerians for granted. This is the one bill, law and Act Nigerians have been waiting for in this period,” he added.
Speaking further, Ememobong warned that sustained erosion of electoral credibility, when combined with insecurity and economic hardship, could trigger unrest beyond the control of the state.
“If Nigerians are pushed to the point of mass protest, and that protest aligns with insecurity and hunger, there will be a conflagration beyond the capacity of any government or security agency to contain,” he said.
The proposed amendment seeks to allow the real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IREV) after Form EC8A has been duly completed and signed.
However, in passing the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill 2026 on Wednesday, the Senate declined to approve the clause mandating electronic transmission.
Instead, lawmakers retained the existing provision, which states that results shall be transferred “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”