Former officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission have intensified calls for mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results.

The demand comes as the National Assembly meets on Tuesday to harmonise differing versions of the proposed electoral reforms, with real-time upload of polling-unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal emerging as one of the most contentious issues before legislators.

A former Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, said the decision facing lawmakers could shape both the credibility of future elections and their own political survival ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Igini, in a statement on Sunday, argued that loopholes allowing result alteration during manual collation had historically worked against sitting lawmakers who lost party backing.

“As the National Assembly convenes to reconcile the divergent versions of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill… I urge Honourable and Distinguished Senators to heed the salutary lessons from the misfortunes that befell their predecessors,” he said.

He maintained that in the past, many candidates who were denied party tickets contested on alternative platforms, but were defeated despite strong grassroots support because polling unit results could allegedly be altered at collation stages.

According to him, mandatory real-time transmission would make results publicly verifiable and deter tampering.

“Publicly viewable results serve as deterrence and would render such tampering manifest and actionable,” Igini stated.

The former REC backed his argument with historical turnover data, saying legislative instability reflected weaknesses in the electoral process.

He said records from previous assemblies showed consistently high attrition rates: Sixth Senate (2007–2011) returned only 23 of 109 members, with 86 newly elected senators representing a 79% turnover.

“Seventh Senate (2011–2015) recorded 36 re-elections and 73 new entrants, making 67%. Eighth Senate (2015–2019) saw 39 returning senators and 70 newcomers, amounting to 64%.

“Ninth Senate (2019–2023) marginally improved with 45 re-elected and 64 newly elected members, yielding a 59% turnover. Tenth Senate (2023–2027) has regressed sharply with only 25 returning senators and 84 new entrants, translating into a staggering 77% turnover.”

For the House of Representatives, he said turnover similarly remained high, ranging from 57 to 78 per cent across electoral cycles.

“A similarly destabilising pattern persists in the House of Representatives. In the Sixth House (2007–2011), merely 80 of 360 members were re-elected, while 280 were newcomers (78% turnover).

“The Seventh House (2011–2015) recorded 100 re-elected members against 260 newly elected (72% turnover). The Eighth House (2015–2019) saw 110 returnees and 250 new legislators (69.4% turnover).

“The Ninth House (2019–2023) marked the lowest attrition in this period, with 151 re-elected and 209 newly elected members (57% turnover). However, the present Tenth House (2023–2027) has again deteriorated, returning only 109 members while ushering in 251 new legislators, producing a 70% turnover rate,” Igini said.

He argued that such instability produced “institutional amnesia,” weak oversight, and continuous expenditure on induction of new lawmakers, stressing that the situation amounted to “institutional self-harm.”

“This chronic instability breeds institutional amnesia, dissipates scarce public resources on perpetual induction and retraining,” he said.

Igini dismissed arguments that network coverage made real-time uploads unrealistic, citing a joint survey carried out by INEC and the Nigerian Communications Commission, which reportedly showed over 97 per cent network coverage nationwide before the 2023 elections.

He said the commission had successfully transmitted results in more than 100 off-cycle elections, including several governorship contests, describing claims of technological impossibility as “excuses.”

“The BVAS device is engineered for both online and offline functionality; network concerns are largely excuses,” he stressed.

The former commissioner urged lawmakers to restore clear provisions for direct real-time uploads, warning that failure to do so could weaken democratic accountability.

He also called on the judiciary to uphold electoral regulations that empower INEC to determine operational procedures under the Constitution.

“Let wisdom prevail over expediency, convenience and party loyalty lest history repeat its tragic verdict upon yet another Assembly. Real-time electronic transmission is not merely desirable; it is essential for the sustenance of our democracy,” Igini said.

Adding his voice, former Katsina REC, Alhaji Jibrin Zarewa, said electronic transmission was initiated by INEC itself and had already proven workable during pilot exercises.

“Definitely, it will work. If it is made mandatory in the law, INEC is capable of executing it,” he said.

He recalled that the commission began testing real-time transmission in by-elections as far back as 2017, insisting that technological and network challenges could be addressed through service providers.

“INEC is capable of looking at the intricacies and the problems that may arise. If I remember, in October 2017, when I was in Sokoto, that was the first time we started testing the transmission. We had a federal consultancy by-election in Kwarri/Wamako federal consultancy, and that was when INEC started the test transmission of the results, and it was real-time.

“Service providers can be made to provide service where we have weak signals and weak networks. When that is done, there’s nothing wrong again,” he said.

Speaking further, he said, “Election is about building trust and confidence. Even the Nigerian public wants it, and it will build confidence in accepting the credibility of the election,” Zarewa added.

He emphasised that transmission was first introduced through INEC guidelines before being codified into law, rejecting suggestions that the electoral body lacked capacity.

Former Zamfara REC, Asmau Maikudi, also agreed that e-transmission is feasible and achievable.

He said, “E- Transmission is feasible and ideal, in line with global best practices. What we need is just commitment and dedication to anything, and it will be done successfully.

“NASS should include e- transmission in the electoral amendment to make our elections more accessible and transparent to the electorate.”

speaking, ex-INEC Federal Commissioner, Prof. Lai Olurode, warned against over-reliance on machines to conduct elections, saying it may trigger crises.

Olurode said relying solely on electronic transmission of results would create suspense if the system malfunctions, which might eventually trigger crises.

The ex-INEC chief, who suggested a combination of the electronic and manual transmission of results, added that third-world countries are often sceptical about the use of technology mainly to conduct their elections due to the high possibility of failure.

“Like any technology, the human heart can fail at any time. In the same way, we see technology. So, I think we should not trigger a crisis in Nigeria because the best way to create a crisis is to keep people in suspense.

“Sometimes, you will send a message to somebody, and he will not see it until the third or the fourth day. So, I don’t think we lose anything by insisting that, of course, e-transmission is the goal, is the way to look at our elections, but don’t be too dependent on technology, especially in your elections.

“Don’t completely remove the element of human agency. What you are trying to run away from is that you don’t trust human beings, don’t trust machines as much as that.

Sometimes you wake up, you send a message and it bounces back at you. What do you do? You look for another person to send it.”

On the way forward, he suggested, “So why not a combination of the two? Instead of saying that, if you insist on real-time alone and it fails, the country is going to be in chaos. That’s just the way I look at it.

“Do a combination for now, and again, as I said, you are not saying that our election should be 100% technology-dependent. Just as we are sceptical about human beings because of their attitude, you can’t be too sure of the attitude of your machine as well,” he noted.

The controversy follows recent amendments by the Senate, which retained electronic transmission but removed the phrase “real-time,” a move that sparked criticism from civil society and election stakeholders.

Under the revised clause, presiding officers would upload results electronically, but the manual Form EC8A could become the primary source if transmission fails due to technology challenges.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio said lawmakers did not reject electronic transmission, but sought flexibility to avoid legal disputes in areas with poor connectivity. (The PUNCH)

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