The Nigerian Senate has dismissed suggestions it is under pressure regarding the amendment to the Electoral Act that mandates real-time electronic transmission of election results, affirming its commitment to the legislative change.
The statement was made by Senate Spokesman Yemi Adaramodu on Tuesday during an interview on Politics Today, a programme broadcast on Channels Television. His remarks follow the Senate’s recent passage of an amendment to Section 60 of the Electoral Act. The amendment formally empowers presiding officers at polling units to electronically transmit results directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Results Viewing Portal, known as IREV.
Adaramodu characterised the legislative process as serious work, not a performative exercise. “Lawmaking is not comical,” he stated, adding that the Senate does not “play to the gallery.” He directly addressed any perception of intimidation, saying, “We are not worried, we’re not to be intimidated, and we shouldn’t be intimidated.”
The spokesman placed the debate within the context of democratic discourse. “As we know, in Nigeria and anywhere else where democracy is thriving, there will be shades of opinions, there will be shadows of ideas, and then we have to listen to all,” he explained, framing the diverse public commentary as a normal feature of the democratic process rather than a source of legislative doubt.
The amendment is a significant update to Nigeria’s electoral framework. It codifies a practice INEC began implementing in recent election cycles, aiming to enhance transparency and reduce opportunities for result manipulation. The change mandates that results from each polling unit be transmitted electronically immediately after the collation and announcement by the presiding officer. This system is designed to allow both the public and political parties to track results in real-time on the IREV portal.
By incorporating electronic transmission into the Electoral Act, the National Assembly is providing a statutory backbone for INEC’s technological processes. The move is widely seen as a critical step towards deepening electoral integrity in Nigeria, following years of debates and legal challenges surrounding the reliability of result collation and transmission.
The Senate’s resolute stance signals its intent to see the amendment through to presidential assent. Once signed into law, the provision will formalise real-time result transmission as a legal requirement for future general elections. The next procedural step involves harmonisation with the House of Representatives’ version of the bill before it is presented to the President for final approval. The successful implementation of this amended law will be a key indicator of Nigeria’s electoral reform progress.
