Senate President Godswill Akpabio has defended the National Assembly’s decision to remove the provision for mandatory electronic transmission of election results from the amended Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The New Daily Prime reported the Senate last week expunged the clause requiring compulsory e-transmission of results, a move that triggered widespread backlash. Several Nigerians, opposition political parties, and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) have since called on lawmakers to reverse the decision.
Akpabio addressed the controversy while speaking at the launch of a book by former senator Effiong Bob, titled The Burdens of Legislators in Nigeria.
He dismissed the criticism, stressing that the conduct of elections and the deployment of technology fall squarely within the mandate of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Explaining the Senate’s position, Akpabio cited security challenges and poor network coverage in parts of the country, noting that some states are unable to support real-time electronic transmission.
He said, “Real-time transmission means that in over nine states where networks are not working because of insecurity, there will be no election results. Nationally, it means that if the national grid collapses and no network is working, no election results will be valid.”
The Senate president also urged critics to channel their complaints to INEC, emphasizing that lawmakers do not run elections.
According to him, “the Senate does not conduct elections, we don’t deploy technology, we only make laws. And INEC must apply the law.”
Akpabio further maintained that decisions on the timing, scope, and method of result transmission rest with the electoral body, not the legislature.
He added, “the timing scoop and modality rests with INEC, acting within the framework of the law enacted by the parliament and interpreted by the Supreme Court.”
