Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, on Tuesday joined protesters at the National Assembly, intensifying calls for the compulsory inclusion of real-time electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026.
Appearing on the fourth day of the demonstration, Ezekwesili cautioned lawmakers against what she described as “dangerous ambiguities” in the proposed legislation, warning that discretionary clauses could undermine electoral credibility.
“I have been particularly loud in stating that if the Senate gets away with a provision that is ambiguous—one that gives discretion to determine the ifs and buts, instead of making it mandatory—that every vote must count in this country,” she said.
She argued that electoral transparency must not be left to interpretation, insisting that compulsory electronic transmission is central to credible elections.
“The way our votes will count is to have this mandatory provision as the core principle of electoral transparency,” she added.
Referencing past elections, Ezekwesili said Nigeria must abandon practices that enable disputes over result handling.
“No longer shall our votes be subject to the kinds of cancellations of results we witnessed in previous elections,” she said.
The former minister also accused political actors of resisting reforms that would deepen accountability. “The only reason they don’t want transparency through a mandatory provision for instant, real-time electronic transmission of results is because they want to continue to capture our democracy,” she alleged.
Linking governance failures to electoral weaknesses, Ezekwesili noted: “Our society is labouring under the weight of poor governance that we have seen so far in our democracy.”
The protests resumed on Monday as demonstrators returned to the National Assembly complex, demanding that lawmakers retain the “real-time” provision and make electronic transmission compulsory without manual alternatives. Security operatives barricaded the entrances, forcing protesters to demonstrate outside the gates.
The renewed agitation followed last Tuesday’s emergency plenary of the Senate to revisit Clause 60(3) of the bill amid public backlash. During the session, Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno moved a motion to delete the phrase “real-time” and replace “transmission” with “transfer,” sparking heated debate.
Despite objections from some senators, the Senate approved electronic transmission of results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal while permitting manual collation as a fallback in the event of technical failures.
Protesters, however, rejected the decision, arguing that Nigeria’s election budget already provides adequate technological infrastructure.
Urging lawmakers to safeguard democratic integrity, Ezekwesili declared: “As citizens, we are saying—stop any coup against this democracy. Stop it.”
