…Upon careful examination of Electoral Act Amendment Bill, fresh issues have emerged – Chef Whip
FAGE
By Yahaya Umar, Abuja
After a rowdy session, the Senate, yesterday, made a U-turn on its rejection of mandatory electronic transmission of election results in the recently amended the Electoral Act in which it had rejected the mandatory electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Result Viewing Portal, IREV, after a manual vote count, endorsements by the political party agents and the Police, however, with a caveat that in the event of internet failure, Form EC8A will serve as the primary means of result collation.
What looks like a re-amended Electoral Act was as a result of a complete rejection of the retention of the 2022 Electoral Act that provided the clause ‘Transfer’ from the movement of election results from the polling Unit to the Collation center. And the citizens rise in unison that the Clause Transmission should replace clause Transfer and what the Senate did yesterday seems to be victory for democracy.
However, from the layman’s point of view even though, it was said in English language, the victory for Nigeria’s democracy was a kind of partial because the amendment does not make electronic transmission mandatory but allows results to be transmitted electronically while providing an alternative in cases of network failure.
AljazirahNigeria reports that the upper legislative chamber rescinded its earlier decision on Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act relating to electronic transmission of election results at an emergency plenary during which the Senate Chief Whip, Sen. Mohammed Monguno, sought the Senate approval to rescind his earlier motion adopted during the Feb. 4 sitting.
The motion was seconded by the Minority Leader, Sen. Abba Moro.
Moving the motion, Monguno recalled the passage of the Electoral Act Repeal and Enactment Bill by the Senate last Wednesday.
“Note that upon careful examination of the bill, fresh issues have emerged in respect of clause 60(3), requiring further legislative consideration for smooth, transparent elections.
“Relying on the provisions of Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2023, as amended, I hereby move accordingly.
“That I resolve to rescind my earlier motion on Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Bill, as previously passed by the Senate to replace ‘transfer’ with ‘transmit’.
“I also move that clause 60(3) be recommitted to the committee of the whole for further reconsideration and passage.
“The reason behind this amendment is that I was the one who moved the motion for the retention of the existing 2022 Act.
“The controversy that it has generated has led me to rescind the decision”, Monguno stated.
During the reconsideration of the motion, the Senate adopted all the clauses of the Electoral Act amendment bill after extensive deliberations by lawmakers.
Clause 60(3) was amended to mandate electronic transmission of results from polling units to IReV after EC8A forms might have been signed and stamped.
The amendment specified the signing by the presiding officer and available party agents at polling units before the electronic transmission.
It also provided that where electronic transmission failed due to communication issues, the EC8A form signed or countersigned shall remain primary.
The amendment further stated that in such cases, the signed EC8A shall serve as the basis for collation and declaration of election results.
The amended clause 60(3) reads: “that results shall be transmitted electronically from each polling unit to IReV.
“And such transmission shall be done after the prescribed EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and party agents who are available at the polling unit.
“Provided that if the electronic transmission of the result fails as a result of communication failure, the result contained in form EC8A signed by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the polling agents shall, in such a case, be the primary source of coalition and declaration of results”.
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, thereafter, listed the names of the conference committee, chaired by Simon Lalong (APC-Plateau South) and other members to harmonise the electoral act for the president’s assent.
Yesterday’s proceedings at the Senate turned rowdy as the federal lawmakers sharply disagreed over the move to reverse an earlier rejection of electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
AljazirahNigeria recalls that the All Progressives Congress holds the majority seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives owing to the gale of defection that besieged the NASS in 2025.
