Rep Dasuki raises alarm over Section 63(2) of the Electoral Act 2026. Abdussamad Dasuki, the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, says the provision threatens the integrity of the 2027 elections. He spoke under a matter of privilege during plenary on Tuesday. However, he framed it as a loophole and did not allege that any fraud has happened.
Dasuki said the clause lets polling officials accept papers without INEC’s marks or security features. He compared it to a bank keeping fake notes in its vault. According to him, the provision weakens the credibility of the law.
Section 63(2) at a glance
| Lawmaker | Abdussamad Dasuki (ADC, Sokoto), Deputy Minority Leader |
| Provision | Section 63(2), Electoral Act 2026 |
| His concern | Ballot papers without INEC marks could be counted |
| Pending items | A bill on the clause and a motion on INEC readiness |
| Speaker’s response | Will try to schedule the motion within the week |
Reports describe the clause in more detail. Section 63(2) lets a returning officer count a ballot paper without the official mark. However, the officer must be satisfied that the paper came from a book supplied to that polling unit. Meanwhile, Section 63(1) bars the counting of unmarked papers. Dasuki says the two subsections clash.
Dasuki also complained about delays. He said he and others sent a bill and a motion months ago. The motion asks the INEC chairman to brief the House on readiness for 2027. Yet he said other bills moved ahead of his. Therefore, he asked the Speaker to list both items for debate.
He also raised concerns about INEC funding and security challenges. He said the House should not wait until the eve of the election to learn INEC’s plans. Moreover, he argued that the Constitution empowers the National Assembly to question INEC on its readiness.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas said nothing sinister was behind the delay. He added that leadership meetings were the right place to raise such issues. Nevertheless, he promised to look into the matter. He also said the House would try to schedule the motion within the week.
This is not Dasuki’s first warning. In August 2026, he urged INEC to hold federal and state elections on one day. At that time, he also asked for Section 63(2) to be removed. He said minority leaders were working to review it before 2027.
Sojworldnews could not find a response from INEC. We will update this report if the commission replies. This article presents the lawmaker’s claims and does not establish any wrongdoing.
Reaction on X
The post below reflects the personal views of its author.
Breaking News; Rep. AbdusSamad Dasuki has once again raised the alarm over a fraudulent provision in the Electoral Act, which we believe poses a serious threat to the integrity of the 2027 elections.
As seen in the video, even the Speaker of the House, who is a member of President Bola Tinubu’s APC, appeared visibly unhappy with Dasuki raising the matter on the floor of the Assembly.
We therefore call on opposition leaders and all Nigerians to demand an explanation and insist that the National Assembly reject this attempt to undermine the people’s mandate.
— Abdul-Aziz Na’ibi Abubakar (@jrnaib2) October 20, 2026
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