Former Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, has identified the country's electoral management body and judiciary as the greatest obstacles to free and fair elections in Nigeria.

Speaking at the launch of the National Action Plan on Electoral Reform in Abuja, organized by the Political Committee of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Amadi called for urgent reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.

"The proposed National Strategic Action is different from previous efforts in electoral reform in Nigeria; it is also directed at the judiciary. Both Executive and Judiciary arise from the recognition that the real threats to electoral integrity and justice come from the electoral management body and the judiciary," Amadi stated.

Growing Skepticism About Electoral Process

Amadi highlighted the "widespread and growing skepticism about the prospect of free and fair elections amongst both electorates and politicians," noting that this has led to numerous defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) by opposition politicians who fear being rigged out of office.

Reflecting on the 2023 presidential election, Amadi pointed to critical failures in the electoral process: "The 2023 elections were electronically transmitted in real-time as required by INEC guidelines. But the presidential results were not because polling officers could not access the right password to upload the results on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV)."

This administrative failure, he argued, "gutted the entire safeguard of the 2023 presidential election," resulting in mutilated results in key battleground states.

"At the tribunal, INEC could not provide evidence of any technical glitch that prevented the upload of results as required by its guidelines. Unfortunately, the tribunal and courts wrongly ruled that INEC could easily walk away from the requirements of its election management guidelines issued pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution," he added.

Declining Voter Participation

Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, acting chairman of the Political Committee of NLC, presented alarming statistics showing a steady decline in voter participation despite increasing voter registration.

"In 2015, we had 69 million registered voters, but 44% voted. In 2019, we had 82 million registered, but 35% voted. In 2023, we had 93 registered voters, and only 27% voted," Ndubuaku revealed.

He warned that if the trend continues, voter turnout could drop to as low as 15% in the next election cycle. "People are not voting because they have lost confidence in the electoral system. So we're not going to call this a democracy when the people are not voting," he concluded.

The National Action Plan on Electoral Reform aims to address these challenges by focusing on institutional reforms that would restore public confidence in Nigeria's electoral system ahead of future elections.