SENATE AGREED TO ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF RESULTS, SAYS UMEH
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By: Sefiu Ajape
Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, has clarified that the Senate “overwhelmingly approved the transmission of results electronically” during deliberations on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, insisting that the provision was “never debated or removed on the floor” of the Red Chamber.
Speaking on Thursday on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Umeh addressed public outrage over the Senate’s handling of the bill, noting that Nigerians were angered because “what they heard was not what they were expecting.”
He explained that the amendment of Clause 60 of the Electoral Act 2022, which deals with the transmission of results, “enjoyed unanimous approval” during Senate consultations, retreats, zonal public hearings, and joint sessions. According to Umeh, stakeholders agreed that the amendment should explicitly provide for electronic transmission “so that where there is a dispute again, the court will not say that it is unknown to law.”
An eight-member ad hoc committee set up by Senate President Godswill Akpabio also retained the electronic transmission provision in its report to the Senate. Umeh said, “Of course, it was debated exhaustively, because their committee retained the electronic transmission of results on what they brought back to the Senate.”
He emphasized that contentious issues were resolved during a closed-door executive session, where “Senators overwhelmingly approved the transmission of results electronically. So, it was common ground; everybody agreed. Even the ad hoc committee set up by the Senate agreed to it.”
Umeh dismissed claims that the provision was expunged, saying, “Eventually, I heard that somebody said they want to expunge ‘transmission’ and somebody seconded. It was not debated. If such a major alteration to what has been generally agreed to were to come up again, it would be thrown open again. We didn’t debate anything like that.”
He further clarified that while polling unit results are to be transmitted electronically to the Independent National IReV, the only agreed modification was the removal of the phrase “in real time” due to concerns over potential technical delays.
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