In a further descent into anti-democratic abyss, the Nigerian senate, last week, passed two laws decriminalising certificate forgery and penalising double party registration.
Certificate forgery, age falsification, and false declarations, which remained, until last week, a valid grounds for the challenge of electoral results, was scrapped off Section 138 of the 2026 Electoral Act sparking a backlash of negative reactions from Nigerians. Few days after, the Senate sat to impose a N10millon fine plus two year jail term on dual-party members.
Leading opposition presidential candidate, H.E. Peter Obi, in his remarks, accused the Tinubu administration of “criminal behaviour”, with many labelling the 10th national assembly a “puppet” and expressing a growing lack of confidence in the upcoming election.
With 32 out of 36 states now defected to the ruling APC party, there are fears the Tinubu-led APC government is weaponising public funds to destroy and replace the nation’s nascent democracy with uniparty autocracy.
“In any serious democracy, the gravest offence in public life is deceiving the people to gain power. Submitting false documents, falsifying one’s age, forging certificates, and making dishonest declarations to electoral authorities are among the most serious offenses in any democracy. Such actions not only lead to automatic disqualification but also warrant criminal prosecution,”
The Tinubu government and the Nigerian Senate is urged, as a matter of urgency, to rescind its legislative subversion of electoral law in the interest of fairness and democratic integrity. Unless an intervention takes place, Nigeria is on course to witness the worst elections ever in 2027.