Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said that Nigeria’s electoral process has improved since the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) left power in 2015. He recently reflected on the country’s democratic journey and the lessons learned from past elections.
Speaking during Wednesday’s plenary session as the Senate debated a bill seeking to repeal the Electoral Act 2022 and introduce a new Electoral Bill 2025, Akpabio, who governed Akwa Ibom State between 2007 and 2015 under the PDP and later served as a senator on the same platform, said that the elections during the PDP era were plagued by irregularities and manipulation.
According to him, even the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had to admit that the election that brought him to power was flawed and riddled with lots of inconsistencies in 2007.
“You will agree with me that since the PDP left, elections have improved tremendously in this country.
I recall that in 2007, when I was elected governor, the then President, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, publicly admitted that the election that brought him to power was flawed and riddled with inconsistencies,” he said.
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He further noted that successive governments have since worked on eradicating electoral malpractice, stressing that while challenges remain, the integrity of elections has been strengthened through reforms and technology.
Akpabio concluded by saying that the new Electoral Bill will further strengthen Nigeria’s democracy by closing existing loopholes and guaranteeing greater transparency.
“Some argued that winning the FCT alone was enough to become president. That debate wasted valuable time until the Supreme Court clarified the issue.
We must find a way to block these gaps to build a stronger and more credible electoral system,” he added.
