Former Rivers State governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, has said Nigeria’s standard of living has deteriorated under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Amaechi made the remarks on Tuesday while addressing protesters at the National Assembly, where civil society groups and political figures were demonstrating against the rejection of real-time electronic transmission of election results.

The protesters are demanding amendments to the Electoral Act to make real-time transmission of results mandatory ahead of the 2027 general election.

Speaking to journalists, Amaechi—who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC)—criticised the Tinubu administration over worsening economic conditions and alleged corruption.

“Is life easier now than when I was in the APC? Life is worse now than during the Buhari administration,” he said. “Even though subsidy removal was being planned under Buhari, there were better plans for citizens.”

Amaechi further alleged widespread corruption, claiming that a $16 billion road project was awarded without due process. “The corruption here is too much. They are stealing,” he said, adding that the APC would not win future elections.

The protest, which began on Monday, featured several political leaders, including Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who led one group of demonstrators.

On Wednesday, the Senate retained the provision for electronic transmission of results as contained in the Electoral Act 2022 but rejected proposals for mandatory real-time transmission and a 10-year ban on vote buying. Instead, lawmakers opted to maintain existing penalties, including fines and jail terms.

Although the bill reportedly enjoyed majority support in the Senate, advocates of real-time transmission expressed disappointment that the chamber retained the clause allowing results to be transmitted “in a manner as prescribed by the commission.”