Human rights lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi has cautioned that any coalition formed by Nigeria’s opposition parties will prove futile unless ordinary Nigerians demand urgent electoral reforms to address deep-rooted systemic failures.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s State of the Nation, Farotimi expressed strong skepticism about the sincerity of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to initiate reforms that would promote electoral transparency.
“Every coalition of opposition will work in vain if the people fail to demand electoral reforms. The system is rigged ab initio,” Farotimi declared.
He accused the APC-led government of being a direct beneficiary of electoral manipulation, and questioned whether such a regime would willingly support reforms that could undermine its grip on power.
“I think it will be not only simplistic but exceedingly foolish to expect the APC government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to show interest in electoral reform that would bring transparency to the process. This is a government that benefited from an electoral hijack,” he stated.
Farotimi backed his claims with personal experience, recalling his role as an election observer during the 2023 general elections in Lagos. He revealed that his team’s efforts to retrieve Form EC8A — the official polling unit result sheet — were stonewalled.
“The then INEC commissioner in Lagos State could not produce a single Form EC8A. The entire result in Lagos State was a fraud,” he alleged.
He stressed that electoral integrity is not merely a political concern but a moral imperative. According to Farotimi, the failure to ensure free and fair elections is an attack on the democratic rights of the Nigerian people.
“Power is not served; you grab it, snatch it, and you run with it. But it is the right of citizens to be given the power to vote and decide who governs them,” he said.
Farotimi urged Nigerians to organize, mobilize, and demand reforms — even through peaceful protests, if necessary.
“We should be making that demand very clearly,” he emphasized. “The people are the biggest victims of electoral malpractice and abuse of power.”
His remarks come at a time of growing public pressure on INEC and the federal government to fix long-standing flaws in Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections. Despite ongoing political realignments among opposition leaders, Farotimi’s warning serves as a stark reminder that without citizen-led activism, meaningful reform may remain out of reach.
