Atiku Urges Tinubu To Adopt New Judicial Reforms Before 2027 Election

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to introduce sweeping electoral and judicial reforms to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 general election.

Atiku made the call in a statement posted on his verified X account, where he commended Nigerians for their participation in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise. He however stressed that credible elections cannot be achieved without systemic reforms that guarantee transparency and restore public confidence in the process.

He pointed out that voter turnout during the 2023 general election was the lowest since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, with only 24.9 million out of 93.47 million registered voters casting their ballots. According to him, such poor participation reflects declining trust in the electoral system.

The former Vice President referenced concerns raised by legal scholar Chidi Odinkalu in his book The Selectorate, which argued that court rulings rather than votes increasingly determine election outcomes. He said this trend risks weakening democratic legitimacy if left unchecked.

To reverse the situation, Atiku outlined nine priority reforms. These include compulsory use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for accreditation and real-time upload of results from polling units, as well as mandatory electronic transmission of results at every collation stage without room for manual handling.

He also proposed that ward, local government, state, and national collation should be strictly based on electronically transmitted results. Manual accreditation, transmission, and collation, he said, should be completely abolished to remove opportunities for manipulation.

Another of his demands is that the appointment of the INEC Chairman, Resident Electoral Commissioners, and National Commissioners should be subjected to a democratic selection process involving the people, rather than being determined solely by political authorities.

Atiku further recommended that in election petitions, the burden of proof should shift to the electoral commission, which must show it complied with the law and constitution in conducting polls.

He maintained that implementing these reforms would place real power in the hands of voters, reduce interference by vested interests, and ensure that future elections reflect the genuine will of the Nigerian people.