EZEKWESILI SLAMS SENATE OVER ELECTORAL ACT VOTE, DEMANDS MANDATORY E-TRANSMISSION

Former Nigerian Minister and transparency advocate, Dr Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, has issued a stern warning to the Nigerian Senate and the wider political class, urging them to immediately reverse their decision to retain ambiguous provisions in the Electoral Act that make electronic transmission of election results discretionary rather than mandatory.

In a strongly worded statement reacting to the Senate’s February 4, 2026 vote on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, Ezekwesili accused lawmakers of deliberately preserving a loophole that undermined public trust during the 2023 general elections.

The Senate had voted against an amendment that would make real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units compulsory, while later insisting it did not reject electronic transmission.

Ezekwesili described this claim as “disingenuous political sleight of hand.”

According to her, by retaining Section 60(5) of the Electoral Act 2022, which allows results to be transmitted “in a manner as prescribed by INEC,” lawmakers have once again “weaponized ambiguity” in Nigeria’s electoral framework.

“That exact clause,” she noted, “was at the centre of the 2023 electoral crisis that eroded public trust, created national tension, and severely damaged the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy.”

Ezekwesili stressed that electronic transmission that is optional or discretionary offers no real protection against electoral manipulation, arguing that transparency in serious democracies is enforced by law, not left to institutional discretion.

She warned that Nigeria narrowly avoided unrest in 2023 not because the system worked but because citizens exercised restraint despite deep frustration. Repeating the same legal ambiguity, she said, risks plunging the country into crisis.

Calling on lawmakers to act urgently, Ezekwesili urged Senators to cancel their announced two-week recess, reconvene in an open plenary session, and pass a clear legal mandate requiring real-time electronic transmission of results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

She cited the exact proposed amendment, which mandates that results be electronically transmitted from each polling unit immediately after Form EC8A is signed and stamped.

“It is not wise to play with fire,” Ezekwesili warned. “Transparency is always better.”