The African Democratic Congress (ADC) have related the controversies that surrounded Saturday’s by-elections as a decline in democracy under the current administration.

Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC’s interim national publicity secretary, released a statement on Sunday as a reaction to the now concluded by-elections that was held in some parts of the country on the 16th of August.

Following reports of all the issues that happened during the elections across all voting centers, Abdullahi alleged that the election was not free and fair.

According to him, the by-elections were riddled with widely reported violence, vote buying, manipulation, and other administrative lapses that jeopardizes the true essence of democracy.

“What Nigerians witnessed in yesterday’s by-elections is yet another reminder that under the current administration, democracy itself, just like the economy and our national security, continues to decline under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC.

“When elections are marred by widespread violence, when ballots are openly and brazenly exchanged for money, when opposition candidates are excluded without explanation, and when the very institutions entrusted to safeguard democracy become complicit, then the vote of the ordinary Nigerian ceases to have meaning,” the statement reads.

The ADC spokesperson also noted that the irregularities that surrounded the by-elections is just a tip of the ice berg as 2027 elections will be far greater if adequate measures are not taken.

Speaking further, Abdullahi acknowledged the not-so-good performance of the ADC in the by-election and noted the corruption of the system as the major determiner.

He also added that the ADC did not field candidates for most of the positions contested in the by-elections.

Abdullahi has now called on the INEC to investigate the irregularities that have been revealed and reported and sanction all compromised officials.

“If INEC cannot guarantee the integrity of a by-election, then Nigerians are right to question its institutional capacity and all-round readiness for a general election,” he says.

As the country draws closer to 2027 general elections, Abdullah challenged all stakeholders and international community to come together to help protect democracy in Nigeria.

“In a similar regard, the ADC calls on the international community, especially Nigeria’s democratic partners and election observers, not to look away.

“Silence in the face of such brazen subversion of democratic norms will only embolden those who profit from this chaos.

“Nigeria is too important to Africa and the world to allow its democracy to collapse under the weight of complicit impunity,” he concluded.