Make no mistake about this. We will never enjoy the benefit of any piece of legislation that will be to the benefit of the majority and disadvantageous to our legislators. We must insist on what we want as a people and not what our legislators desire.
When otherwise simple words or sentences become complex or ambiguous or a subject of controversy in the so-called hallowed chambers of the National Assembly, then know that our legislators are up to something sinister, dubious or mischievous.
How is that every part of the proposed 2026 Electoral Act Amendment Bill is unambiguous and clear for all to understand until it got to the very contentious issue of real-time electronic transmission of results on Section 60 (3)? Why is a straightforward, no-brainer, as this is now ambiguous and needing of Senators to explain what ordinarily should be without controversy?
Something is amiss. This Senate is irredeemably crooked.
In spite of the general agitation by the people for amendment of the Electoral Act to make our elections less contentious, more transparent by eliminating as much as possible human interference in our elections, the Senate still thinks that whereas we can adopt technology in other facets of life, we cannot trust technology to improve our electoral process?
Nigerians had made their position clear during 2025 nationwide public hearings on the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2026, to strengthen transparency and credibility of the process, but our Senators are not going to have any of it.
Of course, the reason for this is not far-fetched.
Section 60, as recommended by the
committee, reads: “Counting of votes and forms
(1) The presiding officer shall, after counting the votes at the polling unit, enter the votes scored by each candidate in a form to be prescribed by the commission.
(2) E (2) The form shall be signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and countersigned by the candidates or their polling agents where available at the polling unit.
(3) The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to IREV portal in real time and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and /or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling unit.
But the amendment was not adopted. Instead, the 2022 version was retained. It reads thus: “Counting of votes and forms
(1) The presiding officer shall, after counting the votes at the polling unit, enter the votes scored by each candidate in a form to be prescribed by the commission as the case may be.
(2)The form shall be signed and stamped by the presiding officer and counter-signed by the candidates or their polling agents where available at the polling unit.
(3) The presiding officer shall give to the polling agents and the police officer where available a copy each of the completed forms after it has been duly signed as provided under subsection (2).
(4) The presiding officer shall count and announce the result at the polling unit.
(5) The presiding officer shall transfer the result, including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.
Clause 60 of the 2022 Electoral Act allows INEC to transmit results in a manner prescribed by it.
The instant outrage that followed has now left Senator Akpabio and his colleagues explaining what should have been a no-brainer.
Who does not know that the contentious issue here is the manner the election results are transferred or transmitted? Who does not know that the reason our elections have remained highly disputed or contentious is because between the polling booths and INEC collation centres, a lot of manipulation and untoward things happen?
The Senate Minority Caucus in its clarification, 24 hours later, claimed that the Senate did not reject the electronic transmission of election results before passing the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, contrary to widespread media reports.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio dismissed the claims as misleading. He also maintained that legislators retained electronic transfer as provided under the 2022 Electoral Act, a distinction he said was necessary to avoid legal and operational ambiguities.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe also said what the Senate passed was the electronic transmission of results, a position which, according to him, was also clarified by the Senate President during plenary.
Senator Akpabio claimed the legislators retained electronic transfer as provided under the 2022 Electoral Act, yet Abaribe is claiming that the Senate President clarified it by saying electronic transfer as provided for by the 2022 Electoral Act, was adopted.
The contentious issue here is that what the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee recommend is the true reflection of what the people are yearning for.
These senators are either being smart by half or are just taking the rest of us for a ride.
What the people are demanding is electronic transmission of results from each polling unit to the IREV portal in real time, as recommended by its own committee as a reflection of the people’s wish.
The people are simply saying spell out the mode of transmission in black and white and make it compulsory. There should be no room for conjectures, no lacuna to be exploited.
In the 2023 elections, INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, told the world that our elections that year would meet with international best practices and that the off-cycle elections held then in Anambra, Ekiti, Edo etc, would be the benchmark for conducting the then upcoming polls.
When he fell short of his promises, the only escape route was that real-time electronic transmission was not legally binding on the electoral body.
Almost four years after these dubious senators still want the 2022 Electoral Act on the transmission of results adopted for the 2027 polls. Where is the so-called amendment? What has changed?
It is dubious and insensitive of these Senators whose election results, by the way, were transmitted electronically and real time in 2023 to now tell us that, that process we are saying should be compulsorily adopted for all our elections cannot be relied on four years after. Are we making progress or regressing?
In 2023, this same claim of lack of connectivity was the reason some objected to electronic transmission. Everything we were told went well except the presidential poll. Today, these legislators are the greatest beneficiaries. So, is it not logical to expect that we should be improving on that experience rather than repeat the errors of 2023 in 2027?
Also, APC has been registering new members electronically and we have been told the process has been very successful. If they can register members electronically, how has that been possible in spite of the so-called poor internet connectivity?
Now that the bill has been transferred to the Harmonisation Committee comprising both chambers of the National Assembly, anything short of what the house recommended, in line with the demand of the people, is not acceptable.
If the House of Representatives position of the bill is clear and unambiguous, why is that of the Senate so complex and generating so much controversy?
Let’s not mince words here, what we are demanding is real time electronic transmission of the results, that is the best practice globally, we cannot be seen falsifying result sheets and snatching ballots and operating nocturnal activities like witches and wizards, in the name of conducting election in 2027 when for the rest of the world it’s fun and easy. If South Africa and the rest of the world are doing that and we enjoy watching it, why should our own be any different?
