The senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, has said it is within the powers of the Senate to conduct an open and transparent vote on the issue of real-time electronic transmission of election results, amid the controversy trailing the amendment of the Electoral Act.
Ningi made this known during a television interview ahead of an emergency plenary session convened by the Senate following widespread public backlash over how provisions on electronic transmission of results were handled after the bill passed its third reading.
Responding to questions on whether Nigerians could be allowed to see how individual senators voted on the matter, Ningi explained that Senate rules permit such openness, depending on the approach adopted by the presiding officer.
“I think it’s possible. It depends on the presiding officer because the law provides for that,” he said.
“You can stand up and say, ‘I, Ningi, support real-time e-transmission.’ Then you sit down, and it is recorded. Every other senator does the same. That is the only way forward.”
He maintained that much of the confusion surrounding the issue resulted from how the proceedings were conducted, stressing the need to properly examine the official records of debates and votes.
“One important issue is that the votes and proceedings were not properly captured. Tomorrow, we need to review what was actually recorded,” Ningi said.
“There was a motion for amendment moved by Manguno, and then a question was put. Who raised the question? Why was it raised? Was it debated?”
According to him, senators were not sufficiently briefed before the decision was taken.
“One reason people are unhappy is that the Senate President should have asked the committee to educate members on the issue raised by Manguno,” he stated.
Ningi also rejected claims that the controversy was driven by partisan interests, insisting that the matter transcends party lines.
“I say this with all sense of responsibility: this is not a party issue. It has never been,” he said.
“If tomorrow the Senate President asks, ‘Is it transfer or transmission?’ and the gavel falls on transfer, then the majority would have carried the day.”
The lawmaker expressed concern over what he described as unfair criticism directed at the entire Senate.
“I feel sad and outraged when I see people condemning the Senate as a whole,” he said. “That is why the story must be told. I can confidently say that about 98 per cent of senators align with the position taken by the House.”
He added that state governors across political parties have also shown support for electronic transmission of results.
“APC governors have made their submissions. PDP governors too. They are all in support of e-transmission,” Ningi noted.
The Senate has come under intense criticism since it rejected a proposal that would have made real-time electronic transmission of election results compulsory in the amended Electoral Act.
The rejected provision sought to mandate presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload polling unit results directly to the IREV portal in real time after results were signed.
Instead, lawmakers retained the existing clause allowing results to be transferred “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”
Defending the decision, Senate President Godswill Akpabio explained that the phrase “real-time” was removed to prevent legal challenges in situations where network failures might occur.
“All we did was remove the word ‘real-time,’” Akpabio said. “If there is a network failure and the matter goes to court, someone could argue that it was supposed to be real-time.”
Despite this explanation, protests have erupted in Abuja, with demonstrators demanding that lawmakers clearly reinstate “real-time electronic transmission” in the amended Electoral Act.