Abuja, Nigeria – African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain Kenneth Okonkwo has called on the Senate to completely remove provisions allowing manual transmission of election results in the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act.
Speaking on Tuesday during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television, the actor-turned-politician insisted that election results must be transmitted directly from polling units to prevent manipulation.
“Once they put that law that you must transmit from the polling unit, I am okay. So any polling officer would not leave the polling unit,” Okonkwo stated.
He further urged lawmakers to go beyond mandating electronic transmission and provide strict consequences where it fails. According to him, elections should be cancelled if results are not successfully transmitted electronically from the polling unit.
“The House of Representatives should go further to say that where it is not possible to transmit from the polling unit, that election should be cancelled,” he said.
Addressing concerns that such cancellations might be unfair, Okonkwo maintained that the credibility of election results is the foundation of democracy.
“The reason you are doing accreditation and voting is for the result. If you do all these things to get a fraudulent result, what have you gained? You have actually emboldened the criminals. The only problem we have in this country is fraudulent elections,” he argued.
He added that Nigeria’s development has been hampered by flawed electoral processes, stressing that democracy ultimately belongs to the people and not to any political party.
“On the day we have free and fair elections in Nigeria, 20 years after that, we would become a superpower nation. America is sustained today because power lies with the people,” he said.
Okonkwo’s remarks come amid controversy surrounding the Electoral Act Amendment Bill recently passed by the Senate. Lawmakers initially rejected a proposal mandating real-time electronic transmission of results under Clause 60(3), opting instead to retain provisions from the 2022 Electoral Act that grant the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) discretion over the mode of result transmission.
The move sparked outrage among opposition figures and civil society groups, who warned that it could undermine electoral transparency. Protests were also staged at the National Assembly.
In response to public backlash, the Senate on Tuesday revisited the issue and approved electronic transmission of results, though it removed the “real-time” requirement. It further resolved that in cases of poor internet connectivity, Form EC8A would serve as the primary document for result collation.
During an emergency plenary session, lawmakers also constituted a committee to harmonise the Senate’s version of the bill with that of the House of Representatives, following widespread criticism of certain provisions.
The ongoing debate underscores deep divisions over how best to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system ahead of future elections.
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