The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and other opposition figures over their stance on electronic transmission of election results in the newly signed 2026 Electoral Act.
Wike made the remarks during a media chat on Monday while responding to opposition criticisms of the law recently signed by President Bola Tinubu.
Electronic Transmission Debate
Opposition parties have rejected a clause in the new law that allows manual transmission of election results when electronic transmission fails due to poor network coverage.
Wike, however, accused Amaechi of hypocrisy, alleging that during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, some government officials opposed electronic transmission for political reasons.
“Remember, under Buhari, the issue of electronic transmission came. People like Rotimi Amaechi, they were in government, they said, ‘no, don’t sign, if you sign, you lose the election’.
“And this is the same person now who is coming out in public to say there should be electronic transmission, but he refused simply because he felt his boss would be affected,” Wike said.
He insisted that the 2026 Electoral Act does not abolish electronic transmission but introduces a safeguard to prevent voter disenfranchisement if technical systems fail.
“Now we are here, they did not say there should not be an electronic transmission. All they said is in case, and which is likely, let us not disenfranchise people by not allowing their votes to be counted,” he added.
Direct Primaries Provision
Wike also addressed another controversial provision in the law mandating political parties to adopt direct primaries in selecting candidates.
According to him, the indirect primary system has often allowed wealthy politicians—including governors and ministers—to dominate party structures and influence candidate selection.
He argued that direct primaries would give party members greater influence in the nomination process and reduce the power of political elites.
The minister further criticised what he described as a culture of constant complaints, noting that some individuals who previously condemned indirect primaries are now opposing reforms aimed at correcting the imbalance.
Opposition Pushback
Last week, opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), called on the National Assembly to begin a fresh amendment process.
They described certain provisions in the Electoral Act 2026 as “obnoxious” and “anti-democratic,” warning that they could undermine electoral transparency and weaken public confidence in Nigeria’s voting process.
What you should know
Nyesom Wike has accused Rotimi Amaechi and opposition parties of hypocrisy over electronic transmission of election results in the 2026 Electoral Act.
While critics argue the new law weakens electoral transparency, Wike insists it retains electronic transmission and only permits manual backup to prevent voter disenfranchisement.
He also defended the introduction of mandatory direct primaries as a move to reduce elite dominance in party politics.
