A former senior Nigerian election official has warned that a failure to mandate real-time electronic transmission of polling unit results could jeopardize the re-election prospects of most current national legislators in 2027.
Mike Igini, a former Resident Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), made the assertion in a statement analyzing ongoing amendments to the Electoral Act. He argues that historical patterns show lawmakers who ignore electoral vulnerabilities often become victims of them.
Igini stated that previous National Assemblies, motivated by “convenience and party loyalty,” neglected to close loopholes like the absence of mandatory electronic results transmission. He claims these gaps were exploited to alter outcomes during collation, leading to the defeat of incumbents who subsequently lost their party’s nomination. “A majority of incumbent legislators… were ultimately defeated through manipulation of polling unit results,” he said, despite strong local support.
He contends the current 10th Assembly risks repeating this history. Lawmakers not favoured by state governors or party leaders, he warns, may secure alternative platforms but still lose due to unprotected results, even with robust grassroots support.
The core of Igini’s argument is that public demand for the electronic transmission directly from polling units to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) is a critical anti-rigging measure. “Publicly viewable results serve as deterrence and would render such tampering manifest and actionable,” he noted.
He cited INEC and telecommunications regulator NCC data from 2022 showing over 97% network coverage nationwide, dismissing infrastructure concerns as “specious excuses.” Instead, he warned that qualifying clauses—such as allowing manual backup—invite mischief, enabling collusion to cause deliberate network failures on election day.
Igini linked the issue directly to legislative stability, referencing the consistently high turnover rate in the National Assembly, where only 30-40% of members typically win re-election. He argued this churn weakens governance, wastes resources on constant orientation, and erodes legislative continuity and oversight.
“The 10th Assembly now stands perilously close to replicating this lamentable pattern,” he said, urging lawmakers to remove any provisions that could weaken electronic transmission safeguards. “Real-time electronic transmission is… essential for the sustenance of our democracy and for deserving legislature members’ political survival.”
The debate centres on the Senate’s recent approval of electronic transmission to IReV while permitting manual collation as a backup and stopping short of making the process compulsory or mandating real-time uploads. This positions the final version of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill as pivotal for the credibility of the 2027 general elections and, as Igini frames it, the political futures of many current legislators.
