As the dust settles on the landmark Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2026, signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu just yesterday, the Nigerian political chessboard has fundamentally changed. The new Act does what many Nigerians thought impossible after the 2023 controversies: it mandates the electronic transmission of results to the IReV and solidifies the BVAS as the sole mandatory method for accreditation.
But laws are only as strong as the hands that hold them. As Nigeria stares down the barrel of the 2027 general elections, one question dominates the “Diaspora Lens”: Is Professor Nnenna Oti the missing piece of the puzzle?
The New Rules of the Game
The 2026 Act structural overhaul, not just a minor tweak. By removing “administrative discretion” over how results are moved, the law has theoretically closed the door on the “manual collation” magic that has historically haunted Nigerian polls.
However, the current transition at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is fraught with tension. While Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) was sworn in as the sixth substantive Chairman in October 2025, succeeding Mahmood Yakubu, the public’s appetite for a “neutral referee” has only grown. Amupitan, a legal heavyweight, faces a skepticism that has become the default setting for the Nigerian electorate.
Why Oti? The “Obingwa Standard”
In the Diaspora, we often talk about “institutional integrity.” In Nigeria, integrity is usually a person.
The calls for Professor Nnenna Oti to lead the commission are not merely sentimental. They are based on the “Obingwa Standard.” In 2023, Oti did what the 2026 Act now mandates: she refused to let the process be subverted by “threats and huge bribes.”
By choosing Oti, the Presidency wouldn’t just be appointing a Chairman; it would be appointing a symbol.
- For the Diaspora: It signals that the era of “returning officers being anonymous figures of compromise” is over.
- For the Local Electorate: It provides a face they already trust, a woman who famously declared, “Under me, votes must count.”
The Risk and the Reward for 2027
The paradox of 2027 is that for President Tinubu to truly “massage” his legacy, he must be willing to risk his comfort.
The 2026 Act provides the hardware for a fair election – the BVAS and mandatory IReV. But Professor Oti is the software. Her appointment would be a “gift to the nation” more powerful than the bill itself. It would undercut the perception that the ruling APC is merely consolidating power through defections and state-level dominance.
If the 2026 Act is, as the President says, a “foundation for our democracy,” then Oti is the only architect with a proven track record of refusing to build on sand.
