Opposition senators on Thursday challenged the Senate leadership over claims that the Electoral Act Amendment Bill retained electronic transmission of election results as provided in the 2022 Act.
Instead, they said the Senate approved real-time transmission of results, not the electronic transfer announced by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The lawmakers made the claim at a press conference in Abuja, a day after the red chamber passed the bill.
‘Senate Betrayed Nigerians’ Trust’
Speaking for the opposition caucus, Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia South, accused the senate of betraying public trust.
He said the decision rolled back major electoral reforms.
“I think what the senate has done is to betray the trust of Nigerians,” Abaribe said.
According to him, the decision erased years of progress.
“It has made a mess of all the gains we have made,” he said. “What happened is a regression and a dangerous retreat from the reforms introduced by the 2022 Electoral Act.”
Dispute Over Transmission of Results
Meanwhile, Abaribe dismissed Akpabio’s claim that the Senate merely retained the existing provision on electronic transmission.
He said the Senate president announced provisions that lawmakers did not pass.
“I completely disagree with the Senate president,” he said.
“He is being clever by half. What he announced was not contained in the report before us.”
Furthermore, Abaribe said the national assembly amended the law to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the 2023 elections.
“The court was clear,” he said. “Electronic collation or transmission was unknown to the law unless stated expressly.”
As a result, he said the House of Representatives inserted clear provisions on electronic transmission and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV).
‘Akpabio Is Misleading Nigerians’
In addition, Abaribe insisted that the Senate report clearly approved real-time transmission of results.
“So when the Senate president says electronic transmission was merely retained, that is not true,” he said.
“He is lying to Nigerians because that was not what was passed.”
Concerns Over Compressed Timelines
Beyond result transmission, Abaribe also raised concerns about changes to the electoral timetable.
He said the Senate compressed timelines critical for INEC’s preparations.
“The 2022 Act provided 360 days to allow INEC prepare properly,” he said.
“Now primaries will hold in about 90 days, and INEC will publish candidates’ names just 60 days before the election.”
Consequently, he warned of major logistical problems.
“For heaven’s sake, when will INEC print ballot papers?” he asked.
Call for Accountability
Finally, Abaribe said the bill removed a provision that required presiding officers to compare electronically transmitted results with manually collated ones.
He described the move as dangerous.
“You cannot say you did a thorough job if this is the outcome,” he said.
“The Senate owes Nigerians a lot of apologies.”
Other opposition senators present at the briefing included Ireti Kingibe and Aminu Tambuwal, among others.
