Senator Abdul Ningi said today the Senate can conduct an open, recorded vote on the contentious issue of real-time electronic transmission of election results if the presiding officer permits it.
The Bauchi Central lawmaker made the remarks on Channels Television’s Politics Today ahead of the Senate’s emergency plenary convened amid nationwide backlash over recent amendments to the Electoral Act.
“I think it’s possible. It depends on the presiding officer,” Ningi said. “A senator can stand up and say, ‘I accept real-time e-transmission.’ It is recorded, and that is the way forward.”
Ningi blamed the controversy on how the amendment was handled, arguing that votes and proceedings were not clearly captured during deliberations. He also criticised Senate leadership for failing to brief senators adequately before taking the motion on the floor.
“This issue should have been properly explained to senators before any question was put,” he said.
Rejecting suggestions the dispute was driven by party politics, Ningi said support for electronic transmission cut across party lines. “This is not a party affair. APC governors, PDP stakeholders — everyone is saying e-transmission,” he added.
He expressed concern over what he described as blanket condemnation of the Senate, and said a majority of senators back the position earlier adopted by the House of Representatives, which included the phrase “real-time” in its provisions.
The Senate has come under heavy criticism since it removed the term “real-time” from clauses mandating electronic transmission of election results in the amended Electoral Act. Senate President Godswill Akpabio defended the decision, saying retaining the phrase could create legal complications in the event of network failures.
The amendments have sparked protests outside the National Assembly and elsewhere, with demonstrators on Monday storming the complex to demand reinstatement of “real-time electronic transmission” in the law. The issue remains a flashpoint as lawmakers and Nigerians weigh calls for greater transparency in electoral processes against concerns over technical and legal contingencies.
