As Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections, The Patriots, a coalition of respected elder statesmen, have called for sweeping electoral reforms—chief among them, the conduct of all national elections on the same day.
This call formed part of the key resolutions from the just-concluded National Summit on the Future of Nigeria’s Constitutional Democracy, held in Abuja from July 16 to 17, 2025. The summit was convened by The Patriots in partnership with the Nigerian Political Summit Group (NPSG), and chaired by former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, participants stressed that truly democratic governance rests on free, fair, and credible elections. However, they lamented that Nigeria’s current electoral system is deeply flawed—costly, susceptible to fraud, and increasingly controlled by the judiciary rather than voters.
“Billions of Naira are spent on logistics, security, and recruitment of electoral officials, yet the courts often end up determining the final outcomes,” the communiqué noted.
To address these challenges, the summit proposed that all elections be conducted on the same day, arguing that this would reduce costs, limit manipulation, and increase efficiency. It cited Brazil and Ghana as examples of nations successfully implementing this model.
Other critical reforms proposed include:
- Amendments to the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution to mandate the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and real-time electronic transmission of results.
- A return to true federalism, with more autonomy for Nigeria’s federating units, similar to the First Republic model.
- A review of the presidential system, which the summit described as expensive, prone to abuse, and detrimental to public welfare and democratic consolidation.
The Patriots emphasized that these reforms are crucial to restoring voter confidence, curbing electoral fraud, and safeguarding the future of democracy in Nigeria.
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