A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Barrister Kenneth Okonkwo, has criticised the Senate over its recent amendment to the Electoral Act, accusing lawmakers of misleading Nigerians.
Okonkwo’s reaction followed the decision of the Senate, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, to approve electronic transmission of election results while permitting manual collation in situations where real-time transmission is not possible due to network or technical challenges.
In a statement shared on his X handle on Tuesday and titled “Nigerians are duped by the Senate,” the former Labour Party spokesperson argued that the amendment undermines the credibility of electronic transmission.
He specifically faulted changes to Section 60 of the Electoral Act, which allow the use of manually generated Form EC8A for collation when electronic transmission cannot be carried out.
According to him, the provision weakens the objective of adopting technology in elections by making electronic transmission optional rather than compulsory.
Okonkwo said the proposal, reportedly introduced by Senator Mohammed Monguno, effectively returns the country to a system where manual results can determine outcomes whenever technical glitches are cited.
He argued that Nigerians had expected a legal framework that makes electronic transmission mandatory, insisting that any election where results cannot be transmitted electronically from polling units should be cancelled and rescheduled.
Drawing a comparison with the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), Okonkwo noted that the Electoral Act already provides for cancellation and rescheduling of elections where BVAS fails during voter accreditation.
He warned that allowing manual collation as an alternative could erode public confidence in the electoral process and compromise the integrity of elections.
Okonkwo further alleged that the Senate’s action could weaken democratic gains, urging Nigerians to demand stricter safeguards to ensure that electronic transmission remains central to election result management in the country.
