…Senators say Controversy Unnecessary, Insist Electoral Act Provision was Approved
By Jeremy Fregene
Opposition Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe and Aminu Tambuwal on Thursday moved to end growing public confusion over the amendment of the Electoral Act, insisting that the Senate did pass a clause providing for real-time electronic transmission of election results, contrary to widespread reports suggesting otherwise.
Both men, who led at least 13 senators across party lines to a news conference in Abuja, said the clarification became necessary following what they described as “misinterpretations and misleading narratives” that the Senate had rejected electronic transmission of results during plenary consideration of the bill.
According who spoke, the Senate approved Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, which allows for electronic transmission of results, as recommended by the joint committees of both chambers after extensive deliberations.
“What we passed — and this was confirmed by the Senate President himself — was electronic transmission of results,” Abaribe said. “Every senator here holds a public trust, and when it appears that our actions have been misunderstood, it becomes necessary to clarify the record.”
He explained that members of the Senate and House of Representatives electoral committees held several joint retreats on the bill and reached a consensus that electronic transmission was essential to the credibility of future elections.
“That agreement was reflected in the reports of both chambers. When we went into executive session to tidy up the report and later returned to plenary, the clause on electronic transmission was passed without rancour,” he said.
Abaribe further disclosed that the Senate had not reconvened after Wednesday’s plenary to adopt the Votes and Proceedings, stressing that the version approved on the floor remains the document to be forwarded to the Electoral Act Conference Committee for harmonisation with the House version.
“Harmonisation is simply to produce one final document for presidential assent. At that stage, either the Senate version or the House version is adopted,” he said, urging Nigerians to engage their representatives constructively rather than rely on speculation.
He emphasised that support for electronic transmission cut across party lines, describing it as “a Nigerian matter, not a partisan issue.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio had earlier also dismissed claims that the Senate rejected electronic transmission, insisting that the chamber merely retained existing provisions empowering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy technology in line with operational realities.
“The Senate did not reject electronic transmission. We retained it. This Senate, under my watch, has not taken any action to undermine it,” Akpabio said during plenary.
Despite the clarifications, opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), criticised the Senate, accusing it of weakening electoral reforms by declining to make electronic transmission mandatory.
In a joint statement, the parties alleged that the Senate’s position created room for electoral manipulation, an accusation lawmakers backing the amendment dismissed as politically motivated and inconsistent with the actual provisions passed.