The Nigerian Senate’s recent decision to modify the Electoral Act without including mandatory electronic transmission of election results has continued to meet a storm of public anger and dissatisfaction.
After the Senate plenary on Tuesday, criticisms intensified, as numerous Nigerians charged Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the 10th National Assembly with intentionally undermining the electoral process in Nigeria in advance of the 2027 elections.
On Tuesday, the Nigerian Senate modified the Electoral Act to allow for the electronic transmission of election results. However, this amendment also established a significant loophole: if electronic transmission fails, manual result sheets can take precedence.
The plenary proceedings, presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, saw the adoption of the amendment.
The revised provision mandates that presiding officers at polling units electronically transmit results to the IREV portal after voting has concluded.
Nevertheless, the amendment stipulates that in instances where electronic transmission fails because of communication or network issues, the manual result sheet — Form EC8A — will serve as the main reference for collating and declaring results.
The development followed the rejection by the upper chamber earlier last week of the mandatory electronic transmission of results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV).
However, the proposal has raised concerns among Nigerians, especially regarding the dependence on Form EC8A as the main source of election results in cases of disputes.
The controversy centers on the assertion from numerous critics that the suggested amendment effectively diminishes the achievements of electoral reforms, particularly those concerning electronic results transmission.
According to representatives of civil society, opposition leaders, and legal professionals who spoke about the development, the Senate’s stance indicates a perilous return to the age of manual manipulation.
On Tuesday, in the wake of the controversy, Senate Spokesman Yemi Adaramodu asserted that the red chamber cannot be intimidated regarding the real-time transmission of election results saga.
The comments by Adaramodu were made on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
He stated that making laws is not a joke and emphasized that the Senate does not engage in showboating.
“We are not worried, we’re not to be intimidated, and we shouldn’t be intimidated.
“And moreover, as we know, in Nigeria and anywhere else where democracy is thriving, there will be shades of opinions, there will be shadows of ideas, and then we have to listen to all. So, that’s what happened,” he said.
On Tuesday, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, condemned the Senate’s stance on amending the Electoral Act, cautioning that it might lead to confusion and jeopardize the electoral process.
Tanko stated that the Senate’s strategy was akin to “setting the people up,” contending that legislators should either back electronic result transmission completely or tackle the related infrastructural issues, like inadequate internet access in certain regions.
He criticized assertions made by several senators that their constituencies do not have network coverage, raising doubts about the utilization of public funds and the degree of development provided to these communities by their representatives.
Tanko believes that permitting a return to manual result transmission in cases deemed impossible for electronic transmission could spark disputes at polling units and collation centres, due to potential disagreements among parties regarding the presence or absence of network service.
He characterized the Senate’s stance as a “chaotic resolution” that might exacerbate electoral challenges instead of resolving them, cautioning that the issue could lead to increased tension in future elections.
Tanko said: “They (Senate) are setting the people up for chaps. What I meant by this is that you either support the electronic transmission of results holistically and provide solutions to inadequacies that may be faced with that particular process.
“For example, making sure that there is internet in that particular area that they said there’s no network.
“One of the senators shamelessly, for God’s sake, saying that there is no service in his own village, then, what are you in the Senate for? What is the allocation that the government has been giving you? What have you done? What development have you got to your own people? It is disgraceful.
“So and then you now say that where there is no service, you go back to manual transfer, or at when everybody agrees. It is a setup for chaos.
“Everybody can say that there is no service in his own area and then there will be an argument between those who want electronic transmission and those who don’t want.
“It’s a chaotic resolution. It won’t help but rather create more problems. At least the only thing in that discussion is that they have now learned that the power of the people reign supreme.
“I will rather advise the National Assembly to be really decisive on this matter rather than to leave it hanging. Today, they are finding it difficult to approve, tomorrow it may turn to hunt them.
“We will continue to advocate for good governance and the process for election. And anything that’s required for us to do based on the confines of law and order, we will do it. Our people will revert back and take a look at the new resolution and take the next step.
“Well, they should wait for the consequence from the people. The action of the people will testify whether they’ve taken the right decision or not. The party, of course, as I said, will revisit it and look at what needs to be done accordingly.”
Ray Nnaji, a former National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleged that the National Assembly is intentionally leaving gaps in the amendment of the Electoral Act to facilitate manipulation of the electoral process.
Nnaji claimed that the suggested legal amendments were intended to undermine transparency, asserting that numerous legislators knew they would find it difficult to keep their positions in a completely transparent electoral system.
He believes that public pressure is crucial for determining the outcome of the amendment process and emphasized that Nigerians’ views should be included in the final law.
He asserted that the timing of the amendment was intentional, contending that legislators were trying to rush the changes in order to reach their desired result.
Nnaji cautioned that public resistance could disturb the electoral schedule if the amendment is turned down, with possible repercussions for the organization of upcoming elections.
Nnaji declared: “You know quite well that these are loopholes for the manipulation of the system. So all these things are loopholes they are creating to manipulate the system. Most of them knew quite well they can’t come back to the National Assembly if the system is transparent, they can’t come back.
“The people will determine what will happen. But I must have to say, even if they come and harmonize and remove the real time transmission, the pressure that was mounted which made them do what they are doing now, will still have to be mounted. The people’s view must have to take place.
“They decided to do the electoral act amendment belatedly in order to see if they can do it so fast, and then manipulate and succeed in getting what they want.
“And if they try to do that and the people say no, it all means we have to shift the election timetable, and it will affect the conduct of the entire election. That’s what I’m seeing. I don’t know why the people will say this is what we want and you refuse to do that.”
In a similar vein, Barr Olu Omotayo, the President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), condemned Nigerian politicians for their handling of the controversy regarding the Electoral Act amendment, charging them with a lack of leadership on electoral reforms.
Omotayo stated that discussions regarding electronic results transmission should extend beyond the pre-election period, emphasizing that real reforms should have been sought right after the previous general election.
He stated that in order to make electronic transmission mandatory, there must be a conscious investment in infrastructure, especially telecommunications, which he claimed has been overlooked.
Omotayo charged politicians with focusing on their own interests instead of putting the well-being of voters first, and emphasized that electoral reforms and infrastructure development must be ongoing efforts rather than issues to be addressed at the last minute.
He added that the suggested amendment does not signify a notable enhancement of the current legislation, characterizing it as a rephrasing of the previous provisions without substantive change.
He stated that not reinforcing the Electoral Act will essentially revert the country to its previous state, highlighting that accountability and development are frequently only underscored during election times.
He said: “Our politicians aren’t showing leadership, because it’s not when the election remains a year everybody will be jumping up.
“This is something that they are supposed to have tackled since the time of the last election if you want to make e-transmission mandatory.
“Part of good governance is to demand for infrastructure and also development of the society. If you look at the NCC report over 70% of rural areas are not covered by mobile networks. Even in the cities, not all the places we refer to our city have this mobile network.
“So the problem is that the politicians, people we have in power, are only interested in themselves. They’re only interested in their own, what they want to achieve is not for the populace.
“This is something they are supposed to have been canvasing, right from the first day this government came in. Politicians are part of the problem.
“There has not been any improvement on the former law. It’s still the same law, just that the language is a bit different, but it still means the same thing.
“When a government comes to power, we demand accountability. We demand improving the amenities, but nobody is doing that until the election period. We are back to square one.”
Nduka Odo, a public affairs analyst and communication expert at Peaceland University in Enugu, criticized the Senate’s stance, calling it an endorsement of what he referred to as “electoral banditry.”
Odo stated that he was not surprised by the lawmakers’ action, contending that many senators profited from loopholes in the electoral process and had no motivation to eliminate them.
He stated that the amendment gives the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the authority to alternate between electronic and manual transmission of results, which could jeopardize the credibility of elections.
He claimed that similar loopholes were taken advantage of during the 2023 general elections, when electronic transmission reportedly failed in certain areas, resulting in discrepancies between results uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and those manually collated.
Odo used Rivers State as an illustration, asserting that results shown at collation centres were not the same as those recorded at polling units, but were still accepted because of provisions in the Electoral Act.
He asserted that various politicians profited from these irregularities and cast doubt on their commitment to reforming the system.
Odo characterized the Senate’s action as self-serving and urged Nigerians to reject the amendment and push lawmakers to reconsider it.
He said: “No. I’m not surprised. How did we expect the same persons who benefited from the loopholes in the election transmission to fix it? They knew that if they fix it, the System will ensure that they are not reelected into the Senate.
“They have simply empowered INEC to switch between e-transmission to manual. This means a lot. The manual transmission as backup means that INEC can repeat what they did in 2023.
“If an unwanted candidate is leading, the IReV will experience ‘glitch. Many results submitted to the collation centres will totally differ from the ones obtained at the polling units.
“We all saw the mutilated results from Rivers state. And because of the loopholes allowed in the electoral act, these mutilated copies were admitted as true copies.
“Many of the lawmakers benefited from these anomalies. So, how do you expect them to fix it?
“The action by the lawmakers is abominable and self-serving. Nigerians should reject it and pressure them to amend the act. A law that fails to reflect the wills of the people is atrocious and unprogressive.
“Let’s not empower an odoriferous electoral banditry that can create eternal atrocious proclivity for calamities.”
Other prominent political figures in the country who have voiced their dissatisfaction with the Senate’s stance on the issue include Obiageli Ezekwesili (former Minister of Education), veteran Nollywood actor Kenneth Okonkwo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and others.
Senate President Akpabio stated on Tuesday that this month, President Bola Tinubu is anticipated to sign the revised Electoral Act into law.
During an emergency plenary session, Akpabio made this statement as the lawmakers formed a committee to align their version of the bill with that passed by the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives will collaborate with the committee of 12 members to align the versions of the bills that have been approved by both entities.
“I believe that if you are able to conclude within this — in the next few days or one week— the President should be able to sign this amended Electoral Bill into an Act of Parliament within this month of February,” the Senate president told the lawmakers.
“So I wish you a worthy deliberation with your colleagues,” Akpabio said.
Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it.
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.
Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime…
Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime…
Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime…
Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime…
Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime…
Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime…