Electronic transmission: Ezekwesili, Dalung, Sowore protest at National Assembly

Former ministers Oby Ezekwesili and Solomon Dalung as well as activist Omoyele Sowere, on Tuesday, joined protesters at the National Assembly to demand passage of mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units to IRev portal.

Addressing journalists and demonstrators at the gate of the National Assembly, Ezekwesili accused lawmakers, particularly the Senate, of attempting to dilute provisions on electronic transmission of results.

She recalled that during deliberations on the Electoral Act amendment, the House of Representatives had earlier supported reforms on electronic transmission, but alleged that the Senate introduced ambiguity by leaving the matter to the discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“The Senate came to a conclusion that made electronic transmission a matter of discretion rather than a mandatory provision.”

“Citizens have concluded that this is contrary to the desire of Nigerians for electoral transparency that will strengthen our democracy,” she said

Ezekwesili argued that making electronic transmission optional opens the door to manipulation and undermines public trust in the electoral process.

“If the Senate gets away with an ambiguous provision that gives power of discretion instead of making the clause mandatory—that every vote must count—then we are weakening the core principle of electoral transparency,” she said.

She warned against what she described as attempts to sustain a system that allows the cancellation and alteration of results at the polling unit level, referencing past controversies surrounding Form EC8A.

“The only reason they don’t want mandatory, real-time electronic transmission of results from the polling unit to the IReV is because they want to continue to capture our democracy,” she said. “There is no reason why people who call themselves democrats would hate transparency.”

According to her, inserting caveats such as network failure and other exceptions into the law could render the provision ineffective in practice.

“Why are you making a law that already anticipates failure? Every law should be clear and unambiguous. Once you introduce provisos, they become the norm,” she added.

Dalung and Sowore also expressed support for the demand, insisting that only a compulsory electronic transmission system would restore confidence in Nigeria’s elections ahead of 2027.

The protest comes amid heightened political activity in the National Assembly, where lawmakers are reconsidering aspects of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025 in what they describe as efforts to strengthen the legal framework before the next general elections.

Daily Trust reports that debates continue inside the chambers and protests mount outside, the issue of electronic transmission appears set to become a defining element of Nigeria’s electoral reforms ahead of 2027.

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