President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has clarified that the Senate did not oppose the electronic transmission of election results, but merely retained the existing provision of the Electoral Act 2022.
Akpabio made the clarification on Saturday in Abuja while speaking at a book launch focused on the challenges faced by legislators in Nigeria. He explained that while electronic transmission of results remains allowed, lawmakers agreed to remove the phrase “real-time” from the provision.
According to him, the concern was that insisting on real-time transmission could create legal complications in the event of network or system failures during elections.
“All we said during the discussion was that the word ‘real-time’ should be removed. If there is a network or grid failure and the transmission is delayed, someone could go to court and argue that it ought to have been done in real time. That was our concern,” Akpabio said.
He stressed that the decision was intended to give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the flexibility to determine the most appropriate method for transmitting results, taking into account technological limitations and security considerations.
The Senate President added that the National Assembly remains committed to passing laws that reflect the will and interests of Nigerians.
Reacting to Akpabio’s remarks, former Senate President David Mark said the legislature should allow INEC to independently decide whether to transmit election results electronically. He also disclosed that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) fully supports electronic transmission of election results.
The clarification follows widespread public criticism after the Senate last week passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 at third reading. In passing the bill, the Senate declined to adopt a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, which sought to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
The rejected amendment would have required INEC presiding officers to transmit polling unit results electronically to the IREV portal in real time after signing and stamping the prescribed result forms.
Instead, the Senate retained the existing provision of the Electoral Act, which states that presiding officers shall transmit results, including the total number of accredited voters, “in the manner prescribed by the Commission.”
