Politics
Pat Utomi Demands Return of Electoral Act 2026 to National Assembly, Warns Lawmakers Are Inviting Anarchy
Political economist and ADC chieftain Prof. Pat Utomi has delivered his most comprehensive critique yet of the Electoral Act 2026, demanding that the legislation be returned to the National Assembly for a thorough review and warning that failure to act could push Nigeria toward a democratic breakdown with consequences that extend far beyond politics.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Utomi accused federal lawmakers of prioritising their own political survival over the national interest, warning that self-serving legislation ultimately erodes the legitimacy of the entire system. He described the current National Assembly as a sham body, adding that by playing to their own interests, lawmakers were unknowingly inviting anarchy — a price, he warned, that would ultimately be paid by all Nigerians rather than just the politicians responsible.
On the speed of the bill’s passage and assent, Utomi was unsparing. He pointed to the fact that President Tinubu signed the over 120-page Act into law in under 24 hours of it being brought to him, bypassing the standard period for executive review and consultation with the INEC chairman — a decision Utomi described as the clearest possible evidence that the process was driven by political calculation rather than genuine legislative deliberation.
His critique extended to specific provisions embedded in the new law. Utomi raised alarm over a clause preventing courts from halting party primaries or elections before they occur, arguing that by the time a stolen mandate winds through Nigeria’s overburdened judiciary, those who benefited from fraud may already have entrenched themselves in power. He also flagged the removal of forged certificate presentation as grounds for challenging an election — a provision he said directly contradicts Section 182(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution, which disqualifies any candidate who presents forged credentials to INEC. He further took aim at Section 138(3), which imposes heavy fines on those challenging fraudulent elections rather than stiffening penalties against the actual electoral offenders.
Beyond the legal technicalities, Utomi contextualised the controversy within Nigeria’s broader democratic regression. He described the 2026 Act as the product of a cabal with a fully advanced plan for rigging the 2027 elections, and drew a direct parallel to the pro-democracy struggles of the 1990s — declaring that the freedom he personally risked his life to secure had now been murdered, and calling on professionals both at home and in the diaspora to return urgently to the struggle for Nigeria’s political liberation.
The FCT Area Council elections served as his evidence of where this trajectory leads. Utomi described the approximately seven per cent voter turnout recorded in the FCT poll as the beginning of a final indictment of Nigeria’s political system, arguing that a democracy in which citizens see no point in participating has already failed in its most fundamental purpose — and that the Electoral Act 2026, rather than reversing that trend, actively deepens it.
At the sharpest end of his assessment, Utomi described the entire episode as a gangster-style assault on popular will by both the Senate and the executive, warning that the conditions now being created could bring Lagos and Abuja to the kind of crisis currently devastating Khartoum, Sudan — a comparison he said was deliberately chosen to convey the gravity of what Nigerians are sleepwalking toward.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has appointed Bashorun Akinwale Akinwole, popularly known as Wolekanle, as his new Chief of Staff following the resignation of his predecessor, Segun Ogunwuyi.
The appointment was announced on Monday, October 12, 2026, in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde. The new appointment takes immediate effect.
Akinwole previously served as chairman of the Oyo State Local Government Service Commission. He is a grassroots politician from Ogbomoso, the same hometown as Ogunwuyi.
Alongside the appointment, Makinde named Mrs Aderonke Adedayo as Director-General of the state’s Due Process Office. Adedayo, who currently serves as Special Adviser on General Intervention and Donor Agencies, will retain her existing position while taking on the additional responsibility.
The appointments followed Ogunwuyi’s resignation earlier on Monday. In his resignation letter, dated October 12, he said his decision took immediate effect and expressed gratitude to Makinde for the opportunity to serve the government and people of Oyo State.
Ogunwuyi, a former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly and the House of Representatives, did not publicly state any political disagreement as the reason for his resignation.
The departure comes amid the recent exits of several political appointees from the Makinde administration. However, no official reason linking Ogunwuyi’s resignation to the wider political developments has been established.
Governor Makinde congratulated the new appointees and urged them to discharge their responsibilities with loyalty, commitment and dedication to public service.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to inaugurate the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The inauguration will take place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, bringing together party leaders and other stakeholders to coordinate the ruling party’s campaign activities.
Former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who serves as Director-General of the campaign council, disclosed the development on Friday after meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa. He said the President had approved the proposed campaign timetable.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma is the council’s secretary, while former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Betta Edu, is expected to play a key role in its women mobilisation directorate.
The campaign council is expected to coordinate the APC’s preparations for Tinubu’s re-election bid, including grassroots mobilisation, communication and engagement with voters across the country.
According to Yari, the campaign is scheduled to begin with a rally in Kaduna on October 24, before moving to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Maiduguri, Borno State.
Ahead of the formal inauguration, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu and members of the women mobilisation team have reportedly begun grassroots engagement across the country.
The team has set a target of mobilising 40 million women’s votes for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket through outreach across communities and polling-unit structures in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The October 14 event is expected to formally activate the campaign council’s operations as the APC begins preparations for the 2027 presidential election.
Nigeria’s National Register of Voters has surpassed 103 million ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed the latest figure on Monday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at a strategic workshop for media executives organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors in collaboration with the commission.
According to Amupitan, the increase followed the completion of the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and the final clean-up of the register using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
The three phases of the CVR exercise produced a combined 10,772,421 new registrations.
The first phase, conducted between August 25 and December 10, 2025, recorded 2,611,266 registrations. The second phase, held from January 5 to April 17, 2026, produced 4,121,835 registrations, while the third phase, conducted from May 11 to July 26, recorded 3,867,997 registrations.
Amupitan said the newly registered voters were subjected to biometric verification, while the commission also completed the public display of the Preliminary Register to allow citizens to raise claims and objections.
Following the final ABIS clean-up, INEC said the national voter register had moved beyond the 103 million mark.
PVC Collection to Begin October 9
The INEC chairman also announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will commence on Friday, October 9, 2026.
Newly produced PVCs are expected to be distributed to Local Government Area collection centres for eligible voters to collect.
The commission has also introduced printable PVC technology, which it says is designed to reduce the waiting period for voters who need new or replacement cards.
INEC said the technology was introduced in accordance with Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.
The commission has completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities on its timetable for the 2027 elections, according to Amupitan.
The latest voter register figure marks a significant increase from the 93,469,008 registered voters recorded for the 2023 general elections.
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