2027: Agbakoba says opposition lacks serious policy discussion

Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has urged opposition politicians in the country to make 2027 politicking a policy-based conversation instead of mere allegations.

Agbakoba who stated this at 2027 news conference on Wednesday in Lagos, said that Nigerians should target remarkable change in the 2027 electioneering by avoiding negative politics.

“I put a lot of blame on the opposition. They are more interested in issues of defection than engaging the people, and convincing them on what they can do just as Obama did in the U.S.

“The quality of politicking is low. We have yet to see issue-based discussions. Some politicians are just waiting for the elections to come so that they can blame INEC or go to court.

“Every politician wants to win but they need to be organised to win.

Most opposition politicians are not planning at all. It’s just like in football when people who have not even scored goals are blaming the referee,” he said.

Speaking on the Electoral Act, the legal practitioner, urged the National Assembly to act decisively by embedding mandatory real time electronic transmission of results in the act.

“There is need to remove all ambiguities and closing the legal loopholes that have been exploited to undermine the people’s will. Democracy demands nothing less,” he said.

He said that the current legislative process presented a monumental opportunity for the national assembly to resolve the fundamental issue of vote counting before the 2027 general elections.

“”Nigerians need a perfect framework for transparency, and to restore confidence in the electoral process.

“Without the amendment, we risk perpetuating the same cycle of disputed elections, protracted litigations and damaged democratic credibility that have plagued the nation for decades,” he said.

Agbakoba reiterated the call for an electoral offences commission in Nigeria, saying that until electoral offenders are punished for their offences, electoral fraud will continue to thrive.

He urged President Bola Tinubu to ‘put his foot down’ in tackling issues relating to the 2027 elections in order to give more credibility to Nigeria’s democratic process.

“The old manual way of doing things when Nigeria decides will make the process susceptible to manipulations. The onus is on the President to correct the inconsistencies,” he said.