Senate President Godswill Akpabio has explained that the Senate did not at any point reject the electronic transmission of election results while deliberating on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, dismissing claims to the contrary.
He made the clarification shortly after the upper chamber passed the bill at the end of a marathon plenary session that lasted about four and a half hours.
Debate on the controversial amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the bill commenced around 2:00 p.m. and stretched until 6:26 p.m., a prolonged process that sparked online speculation that lawmakers had voted against making electronic transmission of results mandatory.
Earlier reports suggested that the red chamber had shot down a proposal that would have required presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit results electronically from each polling unit to the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal in real time, after signing and stamping the prescribed result forms.
The reports claimed that the Senate had instead retained the existing provision of the Electoral Act, which states that the presiding officer shall transfer results, including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot, in a manner prescribed by the Commission.
However, Akpabio insisted that this interpretation was misleading, emphasizing that the Senate did not remove electronic transmission from the law.
“Distinguished colleagues, social media is already awash with reports claiming that the Senate has rejected electronic transmission of results. That is not true. What we did was retain the electronic transmission provision that has been in the Act and was used in 2022.
“So please, do not allow people to confuse you. If you are in doubt, we will make our final votes and proceedings available to you upon request.
Akpabio stressed that under his leadership, the Senate has not rejected electronic transmission of election results, noting that it is also in his personal interest as a participant in future elections to ensure the process remains credible.
He explained that the lawmakers merely retained the existing provision through an amendment, adding that the previous law already allowed for electronic transmission of results and that it remains part of Nigeria’s electoral framework, insisting that the Senate cannot afford to move backwards on electoral reforms.
