The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s bye-elections, describing the process as a sham tainted by violence, corruption, and intimidation.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party alleged that the polls were marred by “widely reported violence, vote buying, manipulation, and other administrative lapses.”
Abdullahi noted that the recent designation of Nigeria’s two major parties, the APC and PDP, as terrorist organisations by a Canadian court was an embarrassment to citizens, adding that “evidence of this bye-election makes it difficult to plead their case.”
He argued that the elections should not be viewed as a measure of the opposition coalition’s strength but as “a sad reflection of how far the system has been corrupted against the will of the people.”
“What Nigerians witnessed in yesterday’s bye-elections is yet another reminder that under the current administration, democracy itself, just like the economy and our national security, continues to decline under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC,” the statement said.
The ADC spokesperson further stressed that when elections are characterised by violence, vote trading, exclusion of opposition candidates, and complicity of institutions, “the vote of the ordinary Nigerian ceases to have meaning.
