By Luminous Jannamike, ABUJA
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has criticised the conduct of the Anambra 2025 governorship election, describing as a dress rehearsal for rigging in 2027.
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According ADC, Anambra was a cash-soaked affair that turned democracy into a marketplace and raised serious concerns about the credibility of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the incumbent governor and his party of widespread vote buying, alleging that money flowed freely across polling units while security agencies and election officials looked the other way.
“The African Democratic Congress has observed the conduct of the just concluded Anambra gubernatorial election with a deep sense of concern for the electoral process in Nigeria. What unfolded in Anambra was, regrettably, a cash-drenched spectacle that was more of a bazaar than an election. This undermines the very essence of democracy,” Abdullahi said.
The party said the election was marked by open cash-for-vote practices that violated the Electoral Act and eroded public confidence in the process.
“We wish to state categorically that, as has been widely reported and clearly shown to Nigerians and the international community, this election was highly monetized, with the incumbent and his party seen to have participated in several forms and styles of cash-for-votes. At polling units across the state, bundles of naira notes changed hands in full view. This was a brazen violation of the Electoral Act, whose foundation had been laid by the Governor himself well ahead of the election,” the ADC said.
The party further faulted the conduct of state institutions charged with protecting the sanctity of elections. It said security operatives and electoral officers failed to act even as voters were harassed and influenced by financial inducements.
“Even more troubling was the apparent silence, and in some instances, visible inaction, of institutions mandated to enforce electoral integrity. Security operatives stood by as voters were harassed and compromised, while electoral officials, overwhelmed or indifferent, failed to uphold even the most basic standards,” the party said.
The ADC warned that the lapses witnessed in Anambra could serve as a dangerous precedent for the 2027 general elections, noting that the credibility of Nigeria’s democracy was already under international scrutiny.
“If this is the manner in which the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, intends to conduct the 2027 general election, then Nigerians have every reason to be worried about the future of our democracy, especially at a time when the state of our nation is under the microscope of the international community,” it stated.
Despite its criticism, the party reaffirmed its faith in a democratic process built on integrity and inclusion rather than financial manipulation.
“On our part, the ADC remains committed to building a Nigeria where leadership is earned through integrity, inclusion, and service, not through the crude exchange of cash for votes,” Abdullahi added.
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