A former member of the House of Representatives, Usman Bugaje, has alleged that the Senate deliberately introduced ambiguity into the amended Electoral Act to weaken provisions for the real-time electronic transmission of election results.
Bugaje made the remarks during an appearance on Sunday Politics, a programme on Channels Television, while reacting to the recent passage and signing of the Electoral Act amendment.
President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 into law less than 24 hours after it was passed by the National Assembly.
Speaking during the interview, Bugaje — an Islamic scholar, political activist, and civil society advocate — argued that the Senate was initially opposed to making the electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
“What we saw and what everybody knew was that the Senate was insisting that there should not be that mandatory electronic transmission of results in real time,” he said.
He further claimed that mounting public pressure forced the upper chamber to shift its position, but alleged that lawmakers ultimately introduced vague language into the legislation instead of clearly guaranteeing mandatory real-time transmission.
“When the pressure was much, they now caved in by producing or creating ambiguity,” Bugaje stated.
The development has reignited debate over transparency and technological reforms in Nigeria’s electoral process, particularly ahead of future general elections.
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