Lawyer Chidi Odinkalu has said he won't join any push for electoral reform in Nigeria because opposition politicians have "no balls" to ensure its effectiveness .

In a statement on X, Odinkalu specifically mentioned former presidential candidates Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi as politicians who ought to be at the forefront but for a lack of balls.

He said, "I regret to disappoint u but I won't join in any discussion of #ElectoralReform in #Nigeria under current conditions. What exactly is wrong with #ElectoralAct2023? The judges gutted it. They'll do the same to the next. What u need to reform is not elections; it's judges & #SANs!

"By the way, with whom will I push these #ElectoralReforms - the Opposition parties that have abdicated or with whom? Under the watch of @NgLabour & @OfficialPDPNig @OfficialAPCNg now has enough in @nassnigeria to amend the constitution & give @officialABAT tenure extension.

"As bad as @OfficialAPCNg have bn in govt, @OfficialPDPNig & @NgLabour have been worse in opposition. Every democracy with a chance needs an opposition. In #Nigeria, these do not exist. How could @NigeriaGov declare unlawful #SoE in Rivers State without protest or incident in #NASS

"As if the defections - both explicit & implicit - from the opposition were not bad enough, it's also the case that both
@inecnigeria & the judiciary have also officially defected into @OfficialAPCNg. So, what makes u think that ur #ElectoralReform will produce anything good?

"We all assume that "reform" means better. That's the way folks assumed that @MBuhari's #Change meant change for the better. We don't seem to have learnt any lessons. There's nothing so bad with elections in #Nigeria that proper management & a less crooked judiciary can't fix.

"So, regrettably, I cld not possibly participate in @SenNenadiUsman's #ElectoralReform thingy. The #Opposition parties have bn worse than dismal & abysmal. It is less than two yrs to the next election. They're relying on the #VileLittleMan, @elrufai, to mastermind #Bodybags!?!

"One more thing: in #NigeriaDecides2023, @atiku ran away from campaigning in Rivers because @GovWike barked. In 2025, @PeterObi has run away from visiting Benu State because the renegade priest who runs the state barked. How can u do #ElectoralReform with politicians who lack balls?

"Ppl shd stop yielding to things designed to demobilize them or to ppl who simply can't show that they are willing to do what is needed. Speaking of #ElectoralReform in these conditions is avoidance. U & I in our lucid moments know what needs to change. It's not law; it's balls!"

ASA