The two houses of the National Assembly on Tuesday officially moved to retain manual collation as a primary backup for the transmission of election results.
The decision, made during a heated plenary session this February, comes amid public outcry over the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act Bill, 2026.
In the Senate, lawmakers voted for the manual backup for results transmission, retaining provisions in Clause 60 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
This provision allows manual transmission of election results where a network failure occurs.
However, the clause was debated on the floor of the red chamber, causing a tense session that culminated in a division vote.
Trouble began during clause-by-clause consideration of the bill when lawmakers reached Clause 60, which deals with the electronic transmission of election results from polling units to INEC’s IReV portal in real time.
Enyinnaya Abaribe raised a point of order, objecting to the proviso in Clause 60(3) that permits manual transmission where the network fails.
He insisted on mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results, calling for a division to determine lawmakers’ positions.
The chamber momentarily descended into murmurs and consultations before moving into a closed-door session to resolve the impasse.
When plenary resumed, Abaribe renewed his call for division on the contentious proviso.
Presiding over the session, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio described the development as democratic engagement.
“This is democracy in action,” Akpabio said, directing senators to “signify where they belong by standing up and raising their hands.”
At the end of the vote, 55 senators, mostly from the ruling All Progressives Congress and two opposition members, voted in favour of retaining the proviso allowing manual transmission where the network fails.
Fifteen opposition senators voted against it, insisting on mandatory real-time electronic transmission.
With the decision, the Senate effectively reaffirmed its earlier position that while electronic transmission of results is permitted, the duly signed Form EC8A by the Presiding Officer and counter-signed by party agents (where available) shall serve as the primary source of results in the event of network failure.
Reps Adopt Senate’s Position
Also, the House of Representatives has stepped down from its earlier decision on real-time transmission of election results and adopted the Senate version.
The House had approved a mandatory real-time transmission of election results through the IREV portal under clause 60 (c) of the Electoral Act amendment bill, but the Senate approved electronic transmission with a caveat.
According to the Senate position, “Results shall be transmitted electronically from each polling unit to the IReV after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and party agents who are available at the polling unit.
“Provided that where the electronic transmission of results fails as a result of communication failure, the result contained in Form EC8A, signed by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by polling agents, shall, in such a case, be the primary source for collation and declaration of results.”
During consideration of the bill on Tuesday, Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker who presided over the session, put the clause to a voice vote, and a majority voted in favor.
Following the development, opposition lawmakers at the House of Representatives staged a dramatic walkout from the plenary.
The protest erupted during consideration of the bill adopting the position earlier passed by the Senate on the electronic transmission of election results.
As Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the House who presided over the session officer the question on section 60 which deals with electronic transmission for adoption, opposition lawmakers rose in protest, alleging impropriety in the handling of the amendment.
“They’ve collected money,” the member screamed repeatedly, while others shouted “APC ole”.
