Adebayo Balogun, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ibeju-Lekki Federal Constituency and chairman of the House Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says sweeping electoral reforms in the National Assembly are targeted at expanding inclusion, strengthening internal democracy, and enhancing public confidence ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES during the 12 July local government elections in Lagos State, Mr Balogun also shared his views on the voter turnout and performance of local government chairpersons in his constituency.
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“The result of today’s election is going to show how effective or ineffective the local government chairmen are within the Ibeju-Lekki federal constituency,” he said.
“If what people have been saying is actually true—that they’ve been performing and they need to come back—then the results will validate that or not.”
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Although official results had not yet been declared, Mr Balogun said early indications suggested a strong mandate for incumbents.
“From what I’m seeing, it seems that the people are actually behind the chairman, because the few results I’ve seen, it’s not just about winning; it has been landslide victories. There is nowhere I’ve seen that it’s less than 90 per cent of the votes in favour of the chairman,” he said.
He noted that the two chairpersons in Ibeju and Lekki LCDA were running for second terms, offering the public a chance to evaluate their leadership.
“You know, the two chairmen within the federal constituency are running for a second term. So people have the opportunity to assess them—to say, yes, we want you again, or we don’t want you at all. So it’s either they want you or they don’t want you.”
Performance over Party lines
While opposition parties were largely absent from the ballot in Ibeju-Lekki, Mr Balogun insisted that turnout and support were driven by visible results rather than political monopoly.
“Sometimes during the primaries, you might feel that they influenced the party executive to get their tickets,” he said.
“But this is the general public now endorsing what the party has done. That shows they’ve actually done well for the people.”
He cited local infrastructure and social projects as evidence of effective governance at the grassroots.
“Look at the secretariat constructed by the chairman of Ibeju. The roads he’s doing. In the area of environment, there’s the Keke-Jaja that goes around to pick trash from people’s houses,” he said.
“If you go to Lekki, there’s a primary health centre—a very gigantic one—bigger than some general hospitals in some cities. Apart from that, they’re doing schools and roads. Many of the streets now use solar-powered lights. These are the things that make people happy—that you’re actually working.”
Reforming Nigeria’s Electoral Process
Turning to national issues, Mr Balogun laid out several pillars of the electoral reform bill being advanced by his committee, beginning with broader political inclusion.
“What we’re just trying to do in the House in terms of electoral amendments is to ensure, one, inclusion,” he said.
“We want to ensure that more people are brought into the vote. Increase the number of voters and increase the number of people contesting.”
He said the committee is pushing for special seats for women and persons with disabilities.
“In the area of inclusion, we’ve pushed for special seats for women and the physically challenged so that at least they can have a sense of belonging,” he added.
“We’re pushing for one candidate per state for the gender bill, and we’re still working on the one for the PWD.”
PREMIUM TIMES has reported the very low women’s representation in Nigeria’s political space. Less than 10 per cent of Nigeria’s federal lawmakers are women, and the situation is worse in most state assemblies.
Women face a myriad of challenges in the political process, including those of culture, funding and stereotypes.
Many Nigerians have proposed different solutions to the problem, one of which is to reserve a percentage of seats in the legislature for women. Doing that would, however, require an amendment to the Nigerian constitution, which is currently ongoing.
Public statements by Mr Balogun and other lawmakers, such as House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, indicate they support reserving seats for women in parliament.
The constitutional amendment process is ongoing, with lawmakers holding consultative meetings with the public in all regions of Nigeria.
Strengthening internal democracy
Mr Balogun also addressed concerns about the lack of political competition in some states and the need to strengthen internal party processes.
“Some of the states are becoming one-party states,” he said. “If that’s the case, there must be internal democracy inside that party, so that even if everybody goes to the party, then you have a choice inside the party.”
Cleaning up the courts and voter rolls
Another major concern is the length and integrity of post-election litigation. Mr Balogun said the committee is proposing tighter timelines and penalties for frivolous court cases.
“We want to ensure that electoral litigations are concluded before the swearing-in,” he said.
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“We’re looking at areas [of] penalising people that come with frivolous cases… just to waste the time of the court, the time of Nigerians, and the little resources that we have.”
He also revealed plans to integrate the National Identification Number (NIN) into the voter register and reduce reliance on the Permanent Voter Card (PVC).
“We want to include the NIN in the voters’ register, so that the area of duplication of the voters’ list will be eradicated,” he said.
“Then we won’t need the PVC again. All you need to do is go there with your NIN number, it brings out your information on the BIVAS, then you put your finger to confirm your biometrics, and you just go in to vote.”
Timeline for reform
Mr Balogun said the reform bill will soon be introduced on the floor of the House after months of consultations across the board.
“We’ve concluded our input from the public, we’ve collated everything,” he said.
“By next week or so, I should be presenting the first and second reading. Our target is August or September at most—we’ll get it signed by Mr. President.”
