Senate President Godswill Akpabio has provided clarification regarding the Senate’s stance on the electronic transmission of election results, asserting that the red chamber did not reject the process but opted to maintain the existing language found in the 2022 Electoral Act.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday during a book launch centered on the challenges faced by Nigerian legislators, Akpabio noted that while electronic transmission is still allowed, the specific requirement for it to happen in “real time” was deleted from the provision.
Explaining the rationale behind this change, Akpabio stated, “All we said during discussion was that we should remove the word ‘real-time’ because if you say real-time, then there is a network or grid failure and the network is not working. When you go to court, somebody will say it ought to have been real-time. That was all we said.”
He further pointed out that this adjustment was intended to provide the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the necessary flexibility to navigate technological or security hurdles when determining how results are transmitted.
According to the Senate President, the upper house remains committed to passing laws that represent the interests of Nigerians.
In response to these comments, former Senate President David Mark suggested that the National Assembly ought to let INEC maintain the authority to decide on the electronic transmission of results.
Read Also: How Mandatory Electronic Transmission Of Election Results Was Rejected During Senate Plenary [VIDEO]
Additionally, he mentioned that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is in full support of the electronic method.
This clarification follows public outcry after the Senate recently passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 through its third reading.
During the process, lawmakers declined an amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, which intended to make electronic transmission a mandatory requirement.
If approved, that provision would have forced INEC presiding officers to electronically upload results to the IREV portal in real time immediately after Form EC&A was signed, stamped, and countersigned by party agents. Instead, the Senate stuck with the current law, which dictates that “the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot, in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”
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