Stakeholders in Nigeria’s electoral process have raised concerns over the continued marginalisation of young people in politics, alleged shortcomings in the Electoral Act 2026 and the need for institutional neutrality ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The concerns were expressed at a High-Level Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable on Electoral Reform Implementation, Electoral Integrity and Youth Participation, convened by Kimpact Development Initiative in collaboration with the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
Speaking in his personal capacity, Mr John Francis, who represented the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), lamented that Nigeria’s political system continued to recycle the same individuals under the guise of youth leadership.
He argued that some political parties had failed to create opportunities for genuine young people to emerge as leaders, noting that individuals who had occupied youth leadership positions for years were still being presented as youth representatives despite advancing in age.
“The beauty of life is that what a man did at 15, he should not be seen doing at 50. But in our political parties, you see youth leaders hiding grey hair, not grey from medical issues, but grey of wisdom.
“We have caged our youths just the way we caged our children. We think for them, we do things for them. We say they are leaders of tomorrow, but tomorrow will never come for them,” he said.
Francis questioned the number of young people fielded as candidates by political parties following the conclusion of the nomination process, asking where young people featured in party membership structures and candidate selection.
He maintained that the political elite was largely self-centred and unwilling to nurture a new generation of leaders, warning that the political system risked stagnation if older politicians failed to deliberately create room for younger people.
According to him, democracy should not be left exclusively in the hands of older politicians, stressing the need for generational renewal and genuine youth inclusion.
He further observed that women and young people account for nearly 80 per cent of voters during elections but are often relegated to the background when political leadership positions and opportunities are distributed.
He lamented that rather than being empowered to contest elections and shape governance, many young people were reduced to political thuggery and the intimidation of opponents, while women were often confined to cheering and mobilising supporters.
On the Not Too Young To Run legislation, Francis argued that the law had not sufficiently addressed the financial barriers preventing young people from participating in politics.
He attributed this partly to the high cost of political participation and what he described as the dollarisation of the education system, which makes it difficult for many young people to acquire the financial resources required to pursue political ambitions.
He disclosed that his political party had introduced a Not Too Poor To Run initiative and offered free nomination tickets to young aspirants during the last election, but regretted that the opportunity was not fully utilised.
Assessing the Electoral Act 2026 ahead of the 2027 general elections, Francis argued that the new legislation, which was expected to address shortcomings in the 2022 Electoral Act, had introduced additional challenges for political parties.
He described the new law as a setback for Nigeria’s electoral development, insisting that the previous legislation provided a more favourable framework for political party operations.
“If you ask me, the 10th National Assembly took us 200 years backwards. The 2022 Electoral Act is 100 times better than the 2026 Electoral Act. It is like giving you a gift with one hand and taking it away with the other,” he stated.
He also rated the 2023 general election as 85 per cent credible, describing it as the best Nigeria had conducted, while pointing to the defeat of several incumbent governors who contested senatorial elections as evidence that the electoral process had provided opportunities for political competition.
According to him, the outcome of the 2023 elections helped build confidence in the electoral system and encouraged the participation of new voters.
He, however, argued that the Electoral Act 2026, rather than adequately addressing identified electoral irregularities, had introduced provisions that could undermine the development of political parties.
Among his concerns were restrictions on the options available to political parties for producing candidates and what he described as the reduction of penalties for electoral offences to levels that could make vote-buying financially attractive to offenders.
He called for broader stakeholder engagement to address the contentious provisions, urging relevant authorities to take corrective measures before the 2027 elections.
Francis also appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to maintain professionalism, impartiality and neutrality, stressing that every eligible vote must count.
He urged security agencies to remain non-partisan and avoid actions that could prevent political parties from exercising their lawful rights to campaign and display campaign materials in accordance with electoral regulations.
Also speaking, the President and Country Director of NDI, Francis Madugo, explained that the roundtable was part of a project initiated in late 2023 to identify barriers to youth participation in politics and develop strategies to increase their involvement in the electoral process.
Madugo disclosed that the initiative had reached more than 4,000 young men and women across the 36 states of the federation, working through six zonal partners and state partners across the senatorial districts.
He emphasised that meaningful electoral reforms must extend beyond discussions in conference halls to the streets and communities where young Nigerians live and experience the challenges of political participation.
He said the outcomes of the roundtable would be communicated to young people across the country to encourage them to become agents of change and educate their peers, friends and schoolmates on the consequences of elections and the importance of active civic engagement.
Meanwhile, Mr Godwin Suleiman, who represented the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), described elections as a fundamental pillar of democracy, stressing that their credibility depended largely on transparency, accountability and integrity.
He warned that corruption remained a major threat to public confidence in the electoral process.
Suleiman announced that the ICPC, through its National Anti-Corruption Coalition, of which Kimpact Development Initiative is a member, would commence a series of engagements with civil society organisations from October 2026.
According to him, the commission plans to organise a roundtable involving CSOs on election monitoring ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He added that participating organisations would also be connected with development partners to explore funding opportunities for election monitoring and related interventions.
The roundtable provided a platform for stakeholders to examine the challenges confronting electoral integrity, youth participation and the implementation of electoral reforms as Nigeria prepares for another general election cycle.
Editorial note: Before publication, I recommend confirming the exact provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 being criticised, particularly the claims about candidate emergence and reduced penalties for vote-buying. Also, confirm the official designation of Francis Madugo and the name/title of the IPAC representative to avoid attribution errors.