The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission against allegedly tilting the 2027 electoral process in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress. The ADC-PCC also urged INEC to prioritise the collection of Permanent Voter Cards by registered voters, arguing that voter registration figures……
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission against allegedly tilting the 2027 electoral process in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The ADC-PCC also urged INEC to prioritise the collection of Permanent Voter Cards by registered voters, arguing that voter registration figures would have little meaning if eligible Nigerians were unable to obtain their PVCs before the election.
The Council made its position known on Wednesday in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, in reaction to INEC’s World Press Conference held on Tuesday.
The ADC-PCC said its presidential candidate remained prepared to participate in the 2027 election, provided INEC guaranteed a free, fair, credible and violence-free electoral process.
Ologbondiyan urged the electoral commission to demonstrate its independence by resisting any attempt by the ruling party to influence its decisions or operations.
“Reading out figures of registration is nothing. What matters is the number of cards actually collected by Nigerians. What gives a citizen power on election day is not that his name is in a register somewhere, but that he has his PVC in his hand,” he said.
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The Council expressed concern over what it described as bureaucratic bottlenecks and delays at PVC collection centres, particularly in areas it considers opposition strongholds.
It urged INEC to ensure that eligible voters were not disenfranchised through administrative obstacles, delays or unequal access to their voter cards.
“We urge INEC to be independent and not take orders from the APC. INEC must remain an unbiased umpire and not operate as an extension of the ruling party,” Ologbondiyan said.
He added that the ADC would demand compliance with the Constitution and Electoral Act throughout the electoral process.
“The ADC won’t allow anything short of compliance with our electoral laws. We demand full transparency, neutrality and strict adherence to due process from registration to declaration of results.”
The Council also said it was monitoring INEC’s activities ahead of the 2027 elections, adding that Nigerians and the international democratic community were also watching the process.
“We are carefully watching every step of INEC. Nigerians and the international community do too. The Commission should stay neutral, as no institution should push Nigerians to the wall by compromising the electoral process,” he said.
Ologbondiyan further said Nigerians had endured significant hardship and could not afford an election that, in the council’s view, was compromised by manipulation or institutional bias.
He described the 2027 election as an opportunity for Nigerians to effect a change of government through the ballot.
The ADC-PCC also warned against what it described as unequal distribution or delayed release of PVCs.
Ologbondiyan said democracy would be endangered if INEC abandoned its neutrality and became an instrument of partisan interest.
“When INEC begins to take dictation from the ruling party, when PVCs are made available in APC strongholds and hidden in opposition areas, then democracy is under threat,” he said. “INEC must not become a political party. It must not write its name in the black book of history as the Commission that set Nigeria ablaze because it chose to serve a party instead of the nation.”
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The Council called on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to decentralise PVC collection to the ward level, extend collection hours and deploy technology to notify voters when their cards were ready for collection.
It also appealed to Nigerians, particularly first-time voters, not to be discouraged by administrative challenges but to participate actively in the electoral process and collect their PVCs.
Ologbondiyan said the ADC remained committed to a democratic process in which every eligible Nigerian would have an equal opportunity to vote and every legitimate vote would count.
“This country belongs to all of us. INEC’s loyalty must be to the Constitution, not to the APC. The ADC stands with Nigerians in demanding an election where votes count and where the PVC truly becomes the weapon of the people to change their destiny.”
