Former Minister of Education and prominent activist Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili has strongly criticized the Nigerian Senate, declaring that citizens are justified in their outrage over the handling of amendments to the Electoral Act, particularly regarding the electronic transmission of election results.
In an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Ezekwesili reacted to the Senate's recent decision to reject a proposed change that would have made real-time electronic transmission of results mandatory.
She pointed out that the upper chamber chose to retain Section 60 Subsection 5 of the 2022 Electoral Act, a provision widely criticized for creating a loophole that allows the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) discretion over how and when results are transmitted.
"The fundamental issue with the review of the Electoral Act is that the Senate retained the INEC 2022 Act, Section 60 Sub 5," Ezekwesili stated.
"This section became infamous for the loophole it provided INEC, causing Nigerians to lose trust. Since the law established that it wasn’t mandatory for INEC to transmit electoral results in real-time, there wasn’t much anyone could say."
She explained that many Nigerians had hoped the amendment process would eliminate ambiguities and discretionary powers granted to INEC, but the Senate adopted a "let sleeping dogs lie" approach instead. "Citizens embraced the opportunity to reform the INEC Act, aiming to address ambiguity and discretionary opportunities for INEC.
"Yet, the Senate handled it with a 'let sleeping dogs lie' approach. The citizens have every reason to be as outraged as they currently are."
The controversy stems from the Senate's vote against mandating that presiding officers electronically transmit results directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in real time after completing Form EC8A and obtaining necessary signatures.
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