Questions Trail Senate’s Closed-Door Vote on E-Transmission as Nwankwo Says Majority Did Not Support Decision

Segun Atanda/

Questions have emerged over the transparency of the Senate’s decision on electronic transmission of election results after a leading civil society advocate said the resolution adopted by the chamber did not enjoy the support of the majority of senators and was reached through a closed-door process on a matter of critical national importance.

Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), said Nigerians were shocked and deeply disappointed that the Senate failed to make real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory, particularly given indications that many lawmakers did not support the position that was eventually passed.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, Nwankwo criticised the Senate leadership for delaying consideration of the report of the electoral reform committee it constituted and questioned how a resolution could emerge from the chamber when, according to him, a majority of senators were not in agreement with it.

“It’s an understatement to say Nigerians are disappointed. Nigerians are shocked and depressed by that outcome,” he said.

“The Senate leadership delayed and didn’t do its part in passing the report from the electoral committee it set up. Interestingly, many senators didn’t agree with what was passed. We must ask ourselves how it passed when the majority of senators disagreed with it.”

Nwankwo said those concerns were compounded by the decision of the Senate to deliberate on the issue in a closed-door session, describing it as inappropriate for a subject as sensitive and consequential as electoral credibility.

“This is a very weighty and sensitive issue of national interest,” he said, arguing that decisions affecting the integrity of elections and public trust should be subjected to open debate rather than concluded behind closed doors.

The controversy follows the Senate’s decision to retain provisions similar to those in the Electoral Act 2022, which give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) discretion over how election results are transmitted, rather than compelling real-time electronic transmission from polling units.

Civil society groups and opposition figures have repeatedly called for mandatory electronic transmission, citing the controversies surrounding result uploads during the 2023 general elections.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said the chamber did not remove electronic transmission from the law but declined to make it compulsory, a clarification that has not stemmed public criticism.

In concluding his remarks, Nwankwo expressed doubt that President Bola Tinubu influenced the Senate’s decision, saying there was no indication that the President instructed lawmakers on what provisions to include or exclude from the Electoral Act.

“What I think happened was that there is some interests. And I do not believe President Bola Tinubu has given any instruction to anybody on what to insert into the Electoral Act or not,” he said.

“Every conversation I’ve had, every discussion I’ve had tells me that the President has always expressed a desire for the Electoral Act to be free and fair and to represent what the citizens want. There is no indication to me that the President wants electronic transmission to be removed from what has been put forward.”

Nwankwo suggested that the outcome may instead reflect the actions of a few individuals attempting to anticipate the President’s preferences without any clear directive.

“I think what you’re seeing is you have a few people who are lip-reading or mind-reading the President and trying to put into or extract from the Electoral Act that has been passed what they think the President would like,” he said.

But on suggestions that the President may have given specific instructions to influence the outcome, Nwankwo dismissed the notion, saying, “I don’t think so. I’ve not seen so and I’ve not heard so.”

The Electoral Act amendment bill is expected to undergo harmonisation with the House of Representatives’ version before being transmitted to the President for assent, as pressure mounts on the National Assembly to revisit the issue of mandatory electronic transmission of election results.