Akpabio Defends Electoral Act Amendment, Criticises ‘Premature’ Public Judgment

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has faulted critics of the ongoing amendment to the Electoral Act, stating that commentators are misjudging the legislature based on an incomplete legislative process.

Akpabio clarified that the Senate has not removed the provision for electronic transmission of election results, but is instead scrutinising the requirement for real-time transmission due to practical concerns.

His defence follows criticism from stakeholders, including the Nigerian Bar Association, which recently urged the Senate to mandate electronic transmission of results to enhance electoral transparency.

Speaking in Abuja as a special guest at the unveiling of a book, The Burden of Legislators in Nigeria, Akpabio explained that the amendment process is still ongoing and public condemnation is premature.

“The Electoral Act amendment is incomplete. We have not completed it, but they are already on television. They don’t understand lawmaking,” he stated.

He accused some civil society actors of attempting to impose their views on the legislature and emphasised that retreats and consultations do not constitute lawmaking.

Akpabio stressed that the Senate’s concern centres on the term “real time,” arguing that mandating instantaneous transmission could invalidate results in regions with poor network connectivity or during national grid failures.

“All we said was that we should remove the word ‘real time,’ because if you say real time and there is a grid failure and the network is not working, when you go to court, somebody will say it ought to have been real time,” he explained.

He maintained that the Independent National Electoral Commission should determine the mode and timing of transmission within the legal framework, warning that inflexible real-time requirements could disenfranchise voters in areas with infrastructure challenges.

In his remarks, former Senate President David Mark, who chaired the event, advised the National Assembly to pass the bill and allow INEC to decide on the feasibility of real-time transmission.

The book’s author, Senator Effiong Bob, outlined various challenges legislators face, including electoral disputes and conflicts with political godfathers, which formed the core of his publication.