Wike Accuses Amaechi of Double Standards on Electoral Act

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has accused former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi and other opposition figures of hypocrisy over the debate surrounding electronic transmission of election results.

Speaking during a media interaction, Wike argued that critics of the Electoral Act 2026 are opposing provisions they once resisted while in government. He claimed that during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, some officials discouraged the signing of legislation that would have fully enabled electronic transmission, fearing political consequences.

Wike maintained that the current law does not abolish electronic transmission but merely permits manual submission of results when technical failures such as poor network coverage occur, noting that this safeguard is intended to prevent voter disenfranchisement.

He also defended the inclusion of direct primaries in the Act, arguing that the system would reduce the dominance of wealthy political actors and strengthen internal party democracy. According to him, Nigerians previously criticised indirect primaries for concentrating power in the hands of political elites.

Opposition parties including the African Democratic Congress and the New Nigerian Peoples Party have called for amendments to the law, describing certain provisions as potentially harmful to electoral transparency and public trust.