President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has clarified that the Senate did not reject the electronic transmission of election results, insisting that lawmakers merely retained the existing provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.
Akpabio made the clarification on Saturday in Abuja during a book launch focused on the challenges and responsibilities of legislators in Nigeria.
Addressing concerns that trailed the recent amendment to the Electoral Act, the Senate President explained that electronic transmission of results remains allowed. However, lawmakers removed the phrase “real-time” to avoid potential legal and technical complications.
“All we said during discussion was that we should remove the word ‘real-time’ because if you say real-time and there is a network or grid failure, somebody could go to court to challenge the process,” Akpabio said. “That was all we said.”
According to him, the decision was aimed at giving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the flexibility to determine the most practical and secure method of transmitting election results, considering technological and security realities across the country.
He stressed that the Senate remains committed to passing laws that reflect the interests and expectations of Nigerians.
Reacting to the issue, former Senate President David Mark said the National Assembly should leave the decision entirely to INEC, allowing the electoral body to choose whether or not to transmit results electronically.
Mark also disclosed that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) supports the electronic transmission of election results to enhance transparency and credibility.
The controversy followed last week’s passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 by the Senate during its third reading.
While passing the bill, lawmakers rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60(3) that sought to make electronic transmission of results mandatory. The proposal would have required presiding officers to upload polling unit results to INEC’s Result Viewing (IREV) portal in real time after signing and stamping official result forms.
Instead, the Senate retained the existing provision of the Electoral Act, which states that results should be transmitted “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”
The development has sparked mixed reactions, with some stakeholders expressing concerns about transparency, while others argue that flexibility is necessary to address infrastructure challenges in parts of the country.
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