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On Monday, June 8th, 2026, Channels Television reported that Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, had voiced concerns regarding alleged manipulation and interference within coalition political processes. Lawal claimed that decision-making and electoral trust were impacted by both external influences and internal party dynamics.
According to Lawal, there were cases where people tried to sway the announcement of election results in several states. “Some people were calling them and saying, ‘Announce this man and announce this man in this state.'” he claimed.
Discrepancies between field results and officially proclaimed outcomes were also mentioned by him, implying that those in charge of tallying and announcing votes were under pressure. This individual is not recording the outcome we obtained from the field, someone informed him, he claims.
The validity of voting procedures is a common theme in Nigerian politics, and Lawal’s remarks are reflective of that. This is especially true at the levels of coalition and party administration.
He went on to talk about the coalition-building activities’ political alliance composition, mentioning the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a major player. A key member of the coalition, according to Lawal, was the PDP.
But he said the party had misled its coalition partners about its goals, especially when it came to internal democratic procedures. A free and fair election was not their goal, he claimed, adding, “The PDP tricked us into thinking that their leadership that joined us.”
