Don’t play with fire, adopt clause on real-time transmission of election results, Ezekwesili tells senate

The former minister of education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has called on the senate to urgently reconsider and reverse its recent decision on the proposed amendment to the Electoral Act by adopting a clause that mandates real-time electronic transmission of election results.

Ezekwesili made the appeal in a statement addressed to the senate, members of the house of representatives, and Nigeria’s political elite.

She cautioned lawmakers against sustaining what she described as dangerous ambiguity in the country’s electoral legal framework, warning that voting against a proposal that makes electronic transmission mandatory could further weaken public trust in Nigeria’s electoral process if not promptly addressed.

“The wisest and free advice that the Nigerian Senate as well as the House of Representatives can receive from all well-meaning citizens of our country now is to know when to stop playing with fire,” the statement reads.

She alleged that lawmakers were intentionally preserving vague provisions in section 60 of the Electoral Act 2022, which allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to determine the method and timing of result transmission, instead of clearly requiring real-time electronic uploads from polling units.

According to her, retaining the clause recreates the same loophole that fueled controversy and widespread distrust during the 2023 general election.

“By deliberately retaining the vague language that leaves the method and timing of transmitting election results to the discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Senate has once again weaponized ambiguity in our electoral law,” Ezekwesili said.

She rejected the senate’s assertion that it did not vote against electronic transmission, describing the claim as misleading and politically insincere.

“Electronic transmission that is optional, discretionary, and unenforceable is no safeguard at all against the systemic electoral fraud that has plagued our country,” she said.

“It was that same clause that created a gap between what Nigerians were repeatedly reassured would happen in the 2023 elections and the fiasco that the law permitted INEC to actually carry out in betrayal of public trust.

“The 2023 elections tested Nigeria’s cohesion. Our country survived not because the system worked well, but because citizens restrained themselves in the face of deep frustration.”

The former World Bank vice-president for Africa urged senators to reconvene and approve the exact wording of the proposed amendment that would make electronic transmission of polling unit results to the INEC result viewing portal (IReV) compulsory.

“Senators, cancel that emergency two-week break announced today, all return to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly complex, and in a broadcast Plenary Session, unanimously pass into law the exact text of the reform that was proposed to the clause on electronic transmission of results,” she wrote.

“It is not wise to play with fire. Transparency is always better.”

Her comments come amid growing public backlash over the senate’s decision not to make real-time upload of polling unit results mandatory.