The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has opposed the proposed Social Media Shutdown Bill before the National Assembly, saying it is an attempt by the Federal Government to silence Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a post on X, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the bill showed how much confidence the Tinubu administration had in its chances of winning the next election.

He said, “The proposed Social Media Shutdown Bill tells us everything that we need to know about how confident the Tinubu government is about its chances in 2027.”

According to Abdullahi, “A government that is confident in its record does not spend its time looking for new ways to control where Nigerians can speak. It spends its time giving Nigerians something to applaud.”

He also said, “This bill deserves to be rejected by all Nigerians because it threatens every Nigerian’s right to speak freely.”

The ADC’s position came after the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) also asked the National Assembly to withdraw the bill, which would require social media companies and bloggers operating in Nigeria to establish physical offices with verifiable addresses in the country.

In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, SERAP warned that the proposal could lead to the exclusion or shutdown of social media platforms and violate the rights of millions of Nigerians.

The organisation said the bill “would create sweeping powers capable of shutting down or excluding social media platforms from the Nigerian market” and expose Nigerians to serious violations of their constitutional rights.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko, passed its second reading in the Senate in March 2025 and is currently awaiting further consideration by the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security.

Nwoko has maintained that the proposal is intended to improve tax collection from digital businesses and strengthen regulation, not to target social media companies.

He argued that the absence of local offices has made it difficult to address users’ complaints, enforce regulations and create jobs.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed claims by former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, that the 2026 Service-Wide Vote (SWV) was set aside to fund President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.

In a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka described Atiku’s allegation as a sign of disturbing ignorance of basic public finance principles and calculated mischief.

Atiku had accused the Tinubu administration of using the Service-Wide Vote as an illegal slush fund for the 2027 election.

Responding, Morka said Atiku failed to provide any evidence to support the allegation.

He explained that “A Service-Wide Vote is a long-established and widely used budgetary mechanism designed to cater for government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures that arise after the annual budget has been passed.”

Morka added, “It is not a secret fund or an illegal slush account, as Atiku has baselessly and recklessly alleged.”

The APC said the SWV is a normal budgeting practice used in many countries and argued that Atiku, as an experienced politician, should understand how it works.

The ruling party also accused the former vice president of trying to tarnish the image of the Tinubu administration.

“The ghost of his sordid past haunts Atiku,” the statement said, adding that he was attempting to attack an administration it described as successful.

The APC pointed to several government programmes under the Renewed Hope Agenda, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative, as examples of the administration’s achievements.

The party maintained that Nigerians can distinguish between political accusations and the government’s performance, insisting that President Tinubu remains focused on economic reforms, tax relief for low-income earners and stabilising the economy ahead of the 2027 elections.

Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Udom, has vowed to support President Bola Tinubu’s second term bid ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Udom described Tinubu as the father of Nigerians who has visions and needs the citizens to back him in fulfilling his dreams.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the former governor said: “Let’s be a little bit human, if I were to be in the same position as the president, would I have asked for a second term? The answer is yes. I’m supporting Tinubu, number one because he is the president of my country right now, he’s our father.

“Number two, he has the vision and I keep saying so, look at the macro-economic eco system, the reforms he has made. I keep repeating this, people might not understand now, you that it’s written in the holy books that what you are trying to do understand but herein after, you will begin to see how this thing would yield positive results.

“Thirdly, from the human angle, if I were to be the one, would I have asked for support to complete the vision  had for my country? The answer is yes, I would have loved people to support me to complete what I have in mind to do. If I see that the vision is good for the country and the man has the capacity then why not.”