President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Saturday, admitted that the Senate deliberately deleted the provision for “real-time” transmission of election results from the Electoral Bill, 2026.
Akpabio said the Senate took the decision because it believed that “technology must save and not endanger democracy.”
He spoke in Abuja at the unveiling of a book titled “The Burden of Legislators in Nigeria”, authored by Senator Effiong Bob.
The Senate President likened the issues raised in the book to the challenges faced by lawmakers in the course of their duties, including the controversy and alleged “abuses” directed at the Senate following the passage of the electoral bill.
Defending the removal of real-time electronic transmission from the bill, Akpabio argued that the entire country could be thrown into chaos if, for instance, network or power failure affected the uploading of results.
He insisted that Form EC8A and other official election records should remain the most reliable means of declaring results.
“All we said was to remove the word ‘real-time’ to allow INEC decide the mode of transmission. If you make it mandatory and there is a system failure, there will be a serious problem,” Akpabio told the gathering, further confirming that the bill, as passed, excluded real-time electronic transmission of results.
He gave another example: “Real-time means that if there are nine states where there is no network, does it mean elections will not take place there?
“Or in any part of the country where there is a grid breakdown, does it mean there will be no election?
Reacting to the outrage that trailed the Senate’s action, the Senate President said the legislature would not be “intimidated” into passing a faulty law simply to please opposition political parties, civil society groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Akpabio criticised NGOs for insisting that because they organised retreats for lawmakers – where ideas were exchanged on the electoral bill – the Senate must adopt their positions, even if such positions did not align with the interests of all segments of the country.
“Why are people setting up panels on television stations and abusing senators? I leave them to God.
“We will not be intimidated but will do what is right for Nigeria, not what one NGO says. A retreat is not law-making.
“Why do you think that the paper you agreed to in Lagos must be what we must approve?” he asked.
Akpabio, who noted that many Nigerians had turned themselves into authorities on legislative matters despite being ignorant of the law-making process, however, softened his stance, promising that there was still a window of opportunity for amendments to the bill.
He cited the Votes and Proceedings of the day’s sitting, explaining that as long as they had not been approved, the bill could still be corrected if the majority of senators supported such changes.
“We have not even completed it until we look at the votes and proceedings. When we bring out the votes and proceedings, any senator has the right to rise and amend it.
“We can amend anything before we approve the votes and proceedings. Why abuse the Senate when what we have is incomplete?
“I can’t talk until they tell me to drop the gavel. In this case, we are yet to complete the process,” he said.
The Senate President also stated that attacks on the Senate were uncalled for, noting that any provision rejected by the Senate could be reinstated by the Conference Committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives. He said there was therefore no need to hastily criticise senators.
However, the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, who chaired the occasion, immediately responded, cautioning Akpabio against speaking for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“What the ADC is saying is: pass the law and let INEC decide whether it can implement real-time electronic transmission or not. Don’t speak for INEC.
“The position of the ADC is clear: pass the bill and let INEC decide what it will do with it,” Mark insisted.
Several speakers at the event, including Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, and the book reviewer, Professor Maxwell Gidado, praised Senator Bob’s courage in writing the book, describing it as a bold effort to highlight the challenges faced by Nigerian legislators in the course of their duties.
The author also outlined some of these challenges, listing electoral battles, conflicts with governors and political godfathers, judicial annulment of electoral victories, addressing private concerns of constituents, and self-inflicted challenges.
“The courage to defend democracy is in the legislature and the legislators,” he said.
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