The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted the conduct of Saturday’s by-elections across 13 states and 16 constituencies, describing the exercise as marred by intimidation, violence, and corruption.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the elections further exposed the deep rot in Nigeria’s democratic process under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ADC alleged that the polls were riddled with reported cases of thuggery, vote buying, ballot box snatching, intimidation of voters, and manipulation by electoral officials.
“In some states, nearly 300 thugs armed with rifles, knives, and cutlasses were arrested on election day. Is this democracy—or banditry disguised as voting?” Abdullahi queried.
The party also raised concerns about the arrest of a suspected vote-buyer caught with N25.9 million and alleged complicity of some electoral officials in financial inducements. It said such practices had become entrenched under the APC.
According to the ADC, the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in several locations has once again put the credibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under scrutiny.
The statement further warned that the by-elections were a dress rehearsal for the 2027 general elections, stressing that if such irregularities persist, Nigeria’s democracy could be fatally undermined.
“The President must recognise that no government can claim legitimacy if it consistently presides over elections that citizens and the international community perceive as fraudulent,” the party said, urging Tinubu to rise above partisan interests and ensure free and fair polls.
The ADC also called on INEC to investigate reported irregularities and sanction compromised officials, while urging the international community, civil society, the media, and faith leaders not to ignore the growing subversion of democratic norms in Nigeria.
In a stinging remark, the party noted that a Canadian court recently designated both the APC and the PDP as terrorist organisations, saying the conduct of the by-election made it difficult to dispute such a ruling.
The ADC, which did not field candidates in most of the contested positions, stressed that the outcome of the polls should not be taken as a reflection of the strength or weakness of the opposition coalition, but rather as evidence of a deeply compromised electoral system.