By Obike Ukoh
The best brains in Nigeria are not in the National Assembly. Undoubtedly and unarguably too, the best brains are not those occupying elected political positions: president, governors and local government chairmen.
People in elected positions, hold the office in trust for the those that elected them. They are not superiors or imperial majesties, whose words are law.
The famous June 20,1789 Tennis Court Oath of the French Revolution, buried despotism, and empowered the Third Estate (Parliament), as the true representative of the people. That makes parliament the real custodian and heart of democracy, if you like, the revolutionary `Arm of Government.’
“The event marked a significant shift in power dynamics , with the Third Estate asserting itself as legitimate representative of French populace.
“The Oath of the Tennis Court thus became a catalyst for revolutionary change, challenging the authority of the monarchy and paving the way for the eventual establishment of a republic in France,’’ and by extension modern constitutional democracy.
It Is therefore a tragedy, if any nation’s Third Estate (National Assembly) is weak, and even to be seen as struggling to please the executive arm.
The handling of the Electoral Act by the Senate , is indicative that majority of the senators are not true representatives of the people.
If they are, how come that all critical stakeholders are against the version of the amendment of the Electoral Act , they passed with regard to transmission of election results?
The concern of Nigerians is how their votes will count, how to ensure free and fair election in order to boost credible leadership recruitment and they expressed that view during the public hearings.
But unfortunately the version passed by the Senate contrast s with wishes of the people, which indeed elicited national outcry.
What they did, was rather than uphold the General Will of the people, as espoused by Jacques Rousseau, the Genevan philosopher, but pursued their Personal Will.
Rousseau distinguished the General Will from the Particular and often Contradictory Wills of Individual or group.
In The Social Contract (1762), Rousseau argued that freedom and authority are not contradictory, since legitimate laws are founded on the General Will of the citizens.
In obeying the law, the individual citizen is thus only obeying him or herself. Was that the case with the way and manner the Senate acted?
The contentious area is Section 60(3) of the Electoral Bill 2026, that stipulates that: “The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal in real-time, and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents available at the polling unit.”
It was widely reported that this provision was rejected, just as the Senate opted to retain the 2022 Electoral Act framework, which allows electronic transmission, but does not explicitly mandate real-time upload to IREV.
But in the revised version passed after the pressure, the Senate now endorsed mandatory transmission, but added that manual method may be used if network fails.
As expected, key critical stakeholders kicked against the Senate’s action, even with the reversal.
The Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, says the rejection of mandatory real-ttime electronic transmission of results by senate is undemocratic and self-serving.
“This tantamount to betrayal of constitutionalism and multi-party democracy. as it prioritises political incumbency over democratic integrity.’’
Afenifere in a statement by its Leader Oladipo Olaitan and National Publicity Secretary Prince Justice Faloye, described the decision as “self-serving and a move towards one party state, teleguided by the executive as witnessed over the years in Lagos State.’’
The group faulted the Senate for its action, stressing that the Supreme Court, previously ruled that real-time transmission was not explicitly provided for in the 2022 Electoral Act.
Adding its voice, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), through its President Ali Rabiu, endorsed real-time electronic transmission of results.
NSE says adopting real-time electronic transmission of election results , is consistent with successful implementation in countries such as Estonia and India.
According to NSE, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), existing technical framework is capable of handling that.
“Therefore NSE hereby declares its full support for real-time electronic transmission of results, the NSE president stressed.
The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), also aligned with those in support of real-time transmission of election results.
The NGE, in a statement signed by Messrs Eze Anaba and Onuoha Ukeh, President and Secretary-General respectively, noted that it is a global trend.
“Globally, mandatory electronic transmission of election results has become a standard for improving electoral credibility and efficiency. Nigeria should not be an exception.
“Making the transmission of election results mandatory and immediate is therefore critical to achieving credible elections in Nigeria.
“Anything short of this will be out of step with contemporary and progressive electoral practice.
“Mandatory and immediate transmission of election results will not only enhance free and fair election, but also give Nigerians the confidence that their votes will truly count,’’ the elite group of journalists stressed.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), also endorsed mandatory electronic transmission of election results, after considering report by its President Afam Osigwe.
The NBA stressed that credible elections remain the foundation of constitutional democracy and warned that continued resistance to enforceable electronic transmission provisions undermines democratic accountability.
The association said technology-driven transparency is no longer optional in modern democracies, and urged Nigeria to align its electoral framework with global best practices.
Accordingly, the NBA called on members of the national assembly to demonstrate legislative responsibility by voting in favour of the amendment compelling the electronic transmission of election results.
“The council resolved that the National Assembly must urgently revisit clause 60(3) and pass the proposed amendment to expressly mandate electronic transmission of results from polling units.”
A Peoples Democratic Party Chieftain, Bode George, described the position of the National
Assembly as an aberration that Nigerians must collectively reject.
George said the move ran contrary to global trends in digitalisation and electoral transparency.
He said Nigeria should be moving forward in line with technological advancement, rather than reversing reforms aimed at strengthening electoral credibility.
George stressed the need for fairness, equity and justice in elections, adding that credible leadership can only emerge through transparent voting and result-management systems.
He said that, as a trained computer and electronics engineer, he had confidence in the growing global reliance on digital systems across sectors, including transportation and border control , as evidence that Nigeria should not retreat from technology-driven electoral solutions.
“The credibility of the country’s democratic institutions depends on the trustworthiness of the voting and collation process,’’ the PDP chieftain noted.
The recently launched Movement for Credible Elections (MCE), said Nigerians must ensure that members of the National Assembly account for the use of legislative powers as a system they have benefited from in the last twenty six years of Nigeria’s democracy.
Leaders of the Steering Council of MCE include: Dr Usman Bugaje, Prof. Pat Utomi, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, Femi Falana, SAN, Amb Nkoyo Toyo, Hajia Bilikisu Magoro, Comrade Ene Obi, Comrade Salisu Mohammed, Comrade Bala Zakka, among others.
In a statement by MCE Media Coordinator, Comrade James Ezema, the group described the action of the Senate as not lawmaking, but a deliberate democratic sabotage against the aspiration of the people of the Nigeria as mandatory electronic transmission of results is not controversial.
According to the group, the transmission process is a minimum safeguard against result tampering, ballot rewriting, and post-election fraud, warning that any legislature that blocks it, is openly defending a system that thrives on electoral corruption, stolen mandates and manufactured election results.
The statement reads in part: “This is not lawmaking, it is deliberate democratic sabotage, against the aspiration of the people of our country as mandatory electronic transmission of results is not controversial.
“It is a minimum safeguard against result tampering, ballot rewriting, and post-election fraud. Any legislature that blocks it is openly defending a system that thrives on electoral corruption, stolen mandates and manufactured elections.
“MCE therefore wishes to make it clear that there is no acceptable justification for rejecting mandatory transmission except for the fear of the genuine votes and mandate of the electorate.
“What this rejection means to many who have come together under the banner of this new coalition, is that the status quo where results are vulnerable to manipulation between polling units and collation centres will remain and be exploited in 2027.
“If we fail to provide the transparency desired by Nigerians, apathy will grow and this in turn will undermine public confidence in elections with citizen choosing to express their votes in other ways.
“Not only has the failure of transparent elections outcomes rewarded impunity and electoral fraud, it has enabled the courts to become the tool of mandate purchase by the highest bidders and appendage of the executive, not independently working to entrench the rule of law.
“Whereas elite state capture has become the order of the day in Nigeria, where impunity and oppression reign, this anti democratic action of the lawmakers show an unwillingness to submit themselves to transparent competition in desperate bid to be beneficiaries of the corrupt systems enthroned since 1999.
“This decision confirms what Nigerians already know, that the Nigerian political class are afraid of technological transparency because it exposes their shoddy and corrupt dealings during elections.’’
It is clear that the Senate did not act based on the General Will. Let’s hope the harmonization committee of the Senate and House of Representatives will remove the dot left by the latest amendment passed by the Senate
Afterall, the dust has been cleared by Prof, Sam Amadi that the “ IREV and B-VAS’’ donot even require internet.
“What it uses is coded,’’ he asserted.
Obike Ukoh, Ex-Deputy Editor-In-Chief, News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)
