Tinubu Will Decide On E-Transmission Of Election Results – Aide

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will take a measured decision on the electronic transmission of election results, guided by Nigeria’s prevailing realities.

Daily Trust reports that the Senate recently passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, approving the electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV), with a caveat that manual transmission may be adopted in the event of network or communication failure.

The approval followed days of protests by civil society organisations demanding that the Senate mandate real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS, Dare assured Nigerians that the president, whom he described as a committed democrat, would act in the best interest of the country.

“I can assure you that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a renowned democrat, will do what is right, but it will not be in isolation from the realities of our country,” he said.

Questioning the feasibility of full real-time transmission, Dare argued that no country operates a completely flawless electronic system.

“There’s no 100 per cent real-time transmission anywhere. Are you telling me that this country, as it is, is networked enough to have a 100 per cent electronic process?” he asked.

President is afraid of real-time transmission — PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it is on record that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had called for electronic voting ahead of the 2015 general elections, describing it as long overdue.

The party expressed surprise that, after 11 years of the All Progressives Congress (APC) being in power, the current administration cannot guarantee real-time transmission of results.

Ini Ememobong, National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, told Daily Trust that the APC is “suffering from a fear syndrome.”

“Evidence exists to show that Asiwaju Tinubu’s APC demanded electronic voting in 2015, claiming it was long overdue. How can that same party, having been in power for 11 years, not be willing or ready to guarantee electronic transmission?” Ememobong asked.

He added, “The president and the APC are afraid of the mass rejection that awaits them at the polls, which is why they cannot meet the overwhelming demand of Nigerians for real-time transmission of results. This is clear evidence of fear. If fear is not the motivation, then let them allow real-time electronic transmission of results.”

Presidency should not make excuses for INEC — ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the Federal Government and the APC for “making excuses” for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over real-time transmission of results.

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the party, told Daily Trust that government officials’ eagerness to defend INEC exposes “our country’s backwardness in internet connectivity.”

He added, “The present administration has performed woefully. They are in a panic about anything that could make rigging difficult. Listening to officials, you wonder why they are quick to make excuses for INEC or highlight our country’s internet limitations. They clearly dislike electronic transmission of results, which would make rigging harder.”

Analysts weigh in

Political analyst Jide Ojo said the issue of electronic transmission of results should not be determined by President Tinubu, insisting that the supremacy of the National Assembly must be upheld in electoral matters.

“The president is not a lawmaker and should not decide the fate of e-transmission of results,” Ojo said. “I am persuaded that the route taken by the National Assembly—making electronic transmission a backup rather than the primary basis for collation of results—is the most appropriate. Once this position is clearly stated in law, there should be no cause for concern about presidential interference.”

He warned that elevating electronic transmission as the primary source of collation could be dangerous, noting that Nigeria’s electoral process already provides multiple layers of result collation, which act as safeguards within the system.

Similarly, Samson Itodo, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, said opposition to electronic transmission stems from fear of transparency. He argued that only unpopular politicians resist reforms that strengthen electoral integrity.

“It is clear from the tone of political actors that they are worried about the electronic transmission of results. Only an unpopular politician scared of transparency would reject it,” he said, while acknowledging that no electoral process—electronic or manual—is completely immune to manipulation. “At the end of the day, it depends on the personal integrity of those managing the process,” he added.

On the president’s role in the reform process, Itodo explained that the Constitution clearly outlines procedures once the National Assembly passes an amendment to the Electoral Act. “After the National Assembly passes the legislation, it goes to the president for assent. If he does not assent, the National Assembly has the power to override him,” he said.

Itodo also dismissed concerns about infrastructure limitations, recalling that a joint INEC-Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) committee in 2022 found that 92 per cent of polling units in Nigeria had network coverage, ranging from 5G and 4G to 2G. He noted that electronic transmission was successfully deployed during the 2023 general elections, suggesting that the current debate is largely unnecessary. (Daily trust)