A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ladan Salihu, has accused the National Assembly of removing provisions on certificate forgery from the 2026 Electoral Act as part of a scheme to shape the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Salihu alleged that the move was politically motivated and tied to calculations favoring the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the previous general election.
He made the claims on Monday while speaking on The Morning Show on Arise Television.
According to him, the National Assembly has become heavily influenced by the executive arm of government, alleging that lawmakers often carry out the wishes of the executive.
He argued that removing the issue of certificate forgery from the Electoral Act was unjustifiable and suggested the move was aimed at preventing such matters from being raised in court during future election disputes.
He said: “Look, we all know when you say the National Assembly is this and it’s that. Everybody knows that we don’t have a National Assembly. We have a National Assembly that is overpowered by the executive that has become the eco chamber of the executive.
“They do the bidding of the executive. They are the willing tools of the executive in perpetuating a grand design to structurally capture power in 2027 by way of subterfuge.
“So if you take anything to the National Assembly, be rest assured that you will be overpowered. It doesn’t matter whether conscience is involved or anything of that, no decorum, no conscience.
“Nothing will justify that. How do you delete the issue of forgery from the Electoral Act?
“It is simply because of their own presidential candidate in the last elections. And if you do that, you are now clearing the ground for him to make sure that such issues do not come up again for discussion in the courts when you go to the judiciary. Let me just leave this for another day.”
However, during the same programme, the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Felix Morka, maintained that the Electoral Act does not override the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Morka said certificate forgery remains a criminal offence under Nigerian law, stressing that the Electoral Act does not abolish or legalise forgery in any form.
“Let me remind you that if the Electoral Act does not supersede or overcome Nigeria’s constitution. Under Nigerian law, certificate forgery is still a criminal activity.
“The Electoral Act does not abolish forgery, whether certificate forgery or other kinds of forgery, as a crime under Nigerian law. It doesn’t.”