“Did The President Read The Bill He Signed Or He Just Rushed It?” — Rufai Oseni Lashes Out At Tinubu Over Electoral Act Signing In Less Than 24 Hours

As Keyamo Says “Some Journalists Express Their Deep-Seated Biases As Wishes Of Nigerian People” 

Arise TV News anchor, Rufai Oseni, has lashed out at President Bola Tinubu for signing into law the controversial Electoral Act less than 24 hours after it was passed by the National Assembly, questioning whether the President actually read the bill before signing.

Speaking on Tuesday during the media’s ‘Morning Show’ programme, Rufai described the swift signing as “an aberration to democracy.”

Rufai questioned the process that led to the signing.

“This is an aberration to democracy. The president signed a bill in less than 24 hours. Did he go through the Attorney-General? What bill did he even sign? Who vetted the bill? Did the president read the bill he signed into law or he just rushed it? Have they gone through the rightful process? What did they harmonize? What is even in the bill as we speak today?” Rufai asked.

The TV anchor recalled previous incidents of discrepancies in legislation.

“This is the same country where we have had discrepancies between what was signed and what was gazetted. Till today, this same rubber-stamped National Assembly cannot account for the tax bill.”

Rufai criticised the National Assembly.

“The National Assembly is not serious. The same lawmakers that sang ‘on your mandate we shall stand’ to President Tinubu.”

The journalist also took aim at the opposition parties.

“I’m sorry but we have a good as dead opposition in this country. If we had an opposition that is thriving, by this morning they should be the ones running around filing court cases.

“I think this opposition should even go and learn opposition from the APC because they don’t look ready and organized to me.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised some journalists and opposition figures for allegedly presenting their personal opinions as the views of Nigerians.

In a post on X on Thursday, Keyamo described the practice as “amusing,” questioning how such individuals could claim to speak for “the Nigerian people.”

“It is amusing to see how some journalists and core opposition characters, posing as ‘activists’, continually express their own deep-seated biases as the wishes of ‘the Nigerian people’. How and where did they aggregate the views of ‘the Nigerian people’?” Keyamo wrote.

Keyamo challenged the methods used to gauge public opinion.

“Or is it the usual suspects who gather at the entrance of the National Assembly and pose for cameras; or the 15 Senators who voted against the majority of 94 Senators; or the less than 25 House members who walked out on the majority of over 300 members; or those vocal few who hop from one TV station to the next every day.

“Or those who gather under the comment section on social media and vent their spleen – just how did they aggregate the views of ‘the Nigerian people’?”

Keyamo warned Nigerians to remain cautious as the election season draws near.

“Nigerians should be alert as we enter an election season. Some journalists and almost every so-called ‘neutral’ commentator or activist you see or hear in the media are all working for one interest or the other.

“They just don’t have the guts to come out with their full chest to openly support the political party or candidate for which or whom they are working.”

Keyamo’s critique comes amid heated debates over the recently signed Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment).

President Bola Tinubu assented to the bill on Wednesday, following its passage in the National Assembly.

In the Senate, 65 lawmakers voted in favour while 15 opposed. In the House of Representatives, 292 members approved the bill with 24 opposing and a few walking out in protest.

Critics, particularly opposition parties and civil society groups, argued that certain provisions, especially those on electronic transmission of results, could compromise electoral integrity and favour the ruling All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.

On Tuesday, plenary at the House of Representatives turned into a rowdy session over the bill as opposition lawmakers teamed up against their All Progressives Congress counterparts in demanding, among others, the electronic transmission of election results without a proviso.

Observers noted that the debate around the Act has been dominated by a vocal few, raising questions about whether such views genuinely reflect the will of Nigerians.

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