Former Senate President and Interim National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has sharply criticized Senate President Godswill Akpabio over the Senate's handling of proposed amendments to the Electoral Act regarding mandatory electronic transmission of election results.
Mark urged Akpabio and the National Assembly to pass legislation mandating electronic transmission of results, leaving it to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to determine feasibility, rather than preemptively speaking on INEC's behalf.
Responding to Akpabio's earlier justification for rejecting compulsory real-time electronic transmission citing network unavailability in nine states Mark said the Senate should not assume INEC's limitations.
“What the ADC is saying is, pass the law, and there should be electronic transmission. Let INEC decide whether they can do it (real-time electronic transmission) or not,” Mark stated.
He added: “Don’t speak for INEC. Speak for the National Assembly. What the public wants is let there be electronic transmission. Now if INEC cannot do it, it’s their own problem and not for you to speak for INEC.
It’s as simple as that.”Mark described the matter as a “by-the-way issue” and “not a serious issue,” while emphasizing that the demand for electronic transmission reflects widespread public desire for greater transparency in elections.
The remarks come amid heated debate over the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The Senate recently retained existing provisions on electronic transmission rather than adopting stricter mandatory real-time requirements to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, sparking controversy and calls for reconsideration.
Akpabio has maintained that the Senate did not outright reject electronic transmission but preserved the framework used in the 2022 elections, arguing that mandatory real-time enforcement could lead to legal challenges in areas with poor connectivity.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com