2027: ADC Cautions INEC against Partiality, Siding with APC

• Demands decentralisation of PVC collection •Atiku accuses Tinubu of abandoning farmers, says agric collapsing •Promises production subsidy for locally refined fuels Chuks Okocha and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) yesterday cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against tilting the 2027 electoral process in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). It warned that the credibility of the election would depend largely on the commission’s neutrality, transparency and equal treatment of voters. The ADC campaign, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, said its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, remained prepared to participate in the 2027 election provided INEC guaranteed a free, fair and credible process devoid of violence and manipulation. The council also urged INEC to ensure that eligible Nigerians who register to vote are able to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), insisting that registration figures would be meaningless if registered voters were subsequently denied access to their cards. Ologbondiyan said the commission must demonstrate its independence by resisting any attempt by the ruling party to influence its decisions or operations. “Reading out figures of registration is nothing. What matters is the number of cards actually collected by Nigerians. What gives a citizen power on election day is not that his name is in a register somewhere, but that he has his PVC in his hand,” he said. The council expressed concern over alleged bureaucratic bottlenecks and delays at PVC collection centres, particularly in areas considered strongholds of opposition parties. It urged INEC to prevent disenfranchisement through administrative obstacles, deliberate delays or unequal access to voter cards. “We urge INEC to be independent and not take orders from the APC. INEC must remain an unbiased umpire and not operate as an extension of the ruling party,” Ologbondiyan said. He said the ADC would insist on full compliance with the Constitution and Electoral Act throughout the electoral process, adding that the party was closely monitoring the commission’s activities ahead of the 2027 elections. “The ADC won’t allow anything short of compliance with our electoral laws. We demand full transparency, neutrality and strict adherence to due process from registration to declaration of results,” he said. The council further called on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to decentralise PVC collection to the ward level, extend collection hours and deploy technology to notify voters when their cards were ready for collection. Ologbondiyan warned that any attempt to manipulate the process in favour of the ruling party would attract lawful resistance from Nigerians. “Let it be clear to INEC that the 2027 general election is not business as usual. Nigerians have endured hardship, hunger and misgovernance under the APC. They see 2027 as an opportunity for a rescue mission. “Any attempt to rig or tilt the process in favour of the ruling party will be met with lawful and resolute resistance from the people,” he said. He added that democracy would be endangered if INEC abandoned its neutrality and became an instrument of partisan interest. “When INEC begins to take dictation from the ruling party, when PVCs are made available in APC strongholds and hidden in opposition areas, then democracy is under threat. “INEC must not become a political party. It must not write its name in the black book of history as the Commission that set Nigeria ablaze because it chose to serve a party instead of the nation,” he said. In a separate statement yesterday, Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of abandoning farmers and allowing insecurity, high production costs and weak domestic processing to undermine the agricultural sector. The former vice president, in the statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said Nigeria’s agricultural trade position had deteriorated from a N740.27 billion surplus in the first half of 2025 to a N56.13 billion deficit in the corresponding period of 2026. He described the N796.40 billion reversal as evidence of the administration’s failure to create an environment in which farmers, processors and manufacturers could thrive. “Tinubu cannot call this reform when the people who grow our food and the businesses that should process it are being squeezed from both sides,” Atiku said. He said agricultural exports had fallen by 33.3 per cent, arguing that the government could not simply attribute the development to increased imports because imports had also declined. “The excuse that Nigerians simply imported too much will not stand. Tinubu’s government must answer for the collapse in what Nigeria sold to the world. The country is losing export earnings, and the President owes farmers, workers and businesses more than another speech about prosperity,” he said. Atiku questioned what the administration had done to improve security for farmers, lower the cost of transporting agricultural produce and make local processing and manufacturing more viable. “Farmers cannot cultivate promises. Manufacturers cannot power factories with speeches. Workers cannot feed their families on assurances that prosperity is coming,” he said. He also defended his proposal for a production subsidy on petroleum products refined in Nigeria, saying qualifying products from Nigerian refineries, including modular refineries, would benefit while imported products would not qualify. According to him, the subsidy would be capped, budgeted and independently audited, with measures to determine whether the savings reached consumers and businesses. Atiku also criticised the administration’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative, describing it as an ineffective relief measure because many Nigerians could not afford vehicle conversion while conversion kits remained difficult to access. He said buses presented as palliatives were also unavailable to many Nigerians who needed them. “Local refining is about more than the price at the petrol pump. Aviation fuel affects fares. LPG affects the cost of cooking. Petroleum products and feedstocks affect industries and the people they employ. “Nigerians need practical relief they can actually access—not schemes whose costs and shortages put the promised benefits out of reach. The value of our resources must reach Nigerians beyond the refinery gate,” he said. According to Atiku, the ADC administration would restore a transparent production subsidy from its first day in office while supporting farmers and processors. “My administration will begin restoring a transparent production subsidy from day one. We will back farmers and processors with the same determination. Grow it here. Process it here. Refine it here. Create the jobs here. Make life affordable here,” he said. He further accused the Tinubu administration of failing to sufficiently translate Nigeria’s natural and agricultural resources into affordable products and employment opportunities.