Electoral Act: Senators insist on electronic transmission of results

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — A group of senators has insisted that the National Assembly remains committed to making electronic transmission of election results mandatory under the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, dismissing reports that the Senate rejected the provision.

The lawmakers, cutting across party lines, said they were concerned about the backlash that followed Wednesday’s Senate proceedings, which were widely reported as having rejected real-time electronic transmission of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The clarification comes barely 24 hours after the 10th Senate, presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill 2026 after its third reading. During clause-by-clause consideration, a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3—seeking to make electronic transmission of results mandatory—was announced as amended, triggering public controversy.

Thirteen serving senators, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South), on Thursday briefed journalists in Abuja to correct what they described as a wrong public impression.

According to the report of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Clause 60(3) provides that:
“The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the 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 available at the polling unit.”

Addressing journalists, Senator Abaribe said the Senate did not reject electronic transmission of results, stressing that the provision remains intact and will be monitored through all legislative stages up to presidential assent.

“To put the record straight, yesterday the Senate did not, I repeat, did not reject electronic transmission of results,” Abaribe said. “What we passed is electronic transmission of results, as already provided for in the 2022 Act.”

He explained that both the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters and the Senate ad hoc committee agreed on the provision during joint retreats with their House of Representatives counterparts, adding that consensus was reached that electronic transmission of results was “the way to go.”

Abaribe further disclosed that a harmonisation committee has been set up to reconcile the versions passed by both chambers before a single document is transmitted to the President for assent.

He also noted that after Wednesday’s plenary, the Senate adjourned without reconvening to approve the Votes and Proceedings—an essential procedural step—insisting that there is still “one more step left” to ensure the provision on electronic transmission is clearly captured before harmonisation.

“We will insist and ensure that what we passed, which is electronic transmission of results, is reflected in the Votes and Proceedings before harmonisation,” he said.

Other senators at the briefing included Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), Austin Akobundu (PDP, Abia Central), Peter Jiya (PDP, Niger South), Ireti Kingibe (ADC, FCT), Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central), Binos Yaroe (PDP, Adamawa South), Kabeeb Mustapha (PDP, Jigawa South West), Khalid Mustapha (PDP, Kaduna North), Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo (ADC, Nasarawa South), Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (PDP, Sokoto South), Tony Nwoye (LP, Anambra North) and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central).

Speaking further, Senator Abdul Ningi described reports that the Senate jettisoned electronic transmission as “painful and misleading,” assuring Nigerians that the National Assembly has consistently supported legal backing for INEC to transmit results electronically.

“At no time since the process for a new Electoral Act began have we abandoned the provision for electronic transmission of results,” Ningi said. “We will ensure that Section 60(3) of the 2026 Electoral Bill is transmitted to the President for assent.”

The senators urged Nigerians to engage their representatives and remain vigilant, stressing that the issue of electronic transmission transcends party lines.

“This is not a party matter,” Abaribe said. “It is a Nigerian matter.”

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