After signing the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) Bill into law on Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu lauded the National Assembly for a job well done, stating that the new law guards against the possibility of the country’s electoral system being compromised through hacking.
TopSociety reports that the presidential assent, which came less than 24 hours after the bill was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, was witnessed by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, amongst others.
In the words of Tinubu, “And as long as you appear personally, as a manual voter in any polling booth, a ballot paper is given to you manually, you decide in a corner and thumbprint the person of your choice, you cast your votes, without hindrance and any interference, ballots are subsequently counted manually, sorted, and counted manually.
“It’s just the arithmetic accuracy that is to enter into Form EC8A. It’s the manual, essentially. The transmission of that manual result is what we’re looking at. And we need to avoid glitches — I’m glad you did — interference, unnecessary hacking in this age of computer inquisitiveness.
In his reaction, celebrated political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi described the new law as a direct confrontation between political elites and the Nigerian people.
In a series of tweets on X, he said the signing of the amended Act marked a dangerous turning point for the country’s democracy.
“The line is drawn. It is politicians in power versus the Nigerian people. Before us is life and death. Choose life that you may live,” he wrote.
Utomi also accused political leaders in both the executive and the legislature of working to undermine the future of young Nigerians.
“Our fathers fought colonizers. We confronted the military. Today’s youth will lose the future unless they contain yesterday’s men and entrepreneurs of power who masquerade as leaders in NASS and Executive branch. They have technology and numbers on their side to fight this coup,” he added.
In another post, the former presidential candidate said the struggle for democracy in Nigeria had been reversed.
“Back in the 1990s I put my life on the line that Nigeria may be free. Today it became clear that freedom has been murdered. I call on Concerned Professionals to return to the struggle for the liberation of the Nigerian people from a cabal foisting on us advance election rigging,” Utomi said.
