As Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections, Senate President Godswill Akpabio has defended the National Assembly’s decision to remove the provision making electronic transmission of election results mandatory in the amended Electoral Act.
The Senate’s move has triggered widespread backlash, with many Nigerians, opposition parties, and professional bodies such as the Nigerian Bar Association calling on lawmakers to reverse the decision. Critics argue that removing compulsory e-transmission could weaken transparency and public trust in the electoral process.
Addressing the controversy at the launch of a book by former senator Effiong Bob, titled The Burdens of Legislators in Nigeria, Akpabio dismissed the criticisms and maintained that the responsibility for determining how elections are conducted lies with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), not the legislature.
He explained that the Senate’s decision was influenced by practical challenges, particularly insecurity and poor network coverage in parts of the country. According to Akpabio, at least nine states currently experience serious network issues, making real-time electronic transmission unreliable in those areas.
He argued that insisting on mandatory real-time transmission could lead to situations where election results are invalidated due to network failures. Akpabio also warned that a nationwide network outage, such as a collapse of the national grid, could disrupt the entire results transmission process if rigid provisions were enforced.
Akpabio urged Nigerians dissatisfied with the development to direct their concerns to INEC, stressing that the electoral body is responsible for deploying technology and choosing the appropriate methods within the limits of the law. He emphasized that while the Senate makes laws, it does not conduct elections or manage electoral technology.
According to him, INEC retains the authority to determine the timing, scope, and modalities of election processes, as long as it operates within the legal framework established by the National Assembly and interpreted by the Supreme Court.
