• Peter Obi address the protesters

Protesters on Monday besieged the entrance of the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, insisting that electronic transmission of results is critical to strengthening trust in Nigeria’s elections.

The protest, tagged ‘Occupy National Assembly’, follows the Senate’s recent passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, during which the lawmakers rejected a proposal to make electronic transmission of results mandatory, a decision that has continued to attract criticism from civil society groups and opposition figures across the country.

The protest, organised by Nigerian youths, pro-democracy activists and civil society groups, was joined by Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election ( and now in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) party.

Obi faulted the Senate’s decision and urged lawmakers to allow the electoral process to run without restrictions.

“Allow the election to go through the normal process. Whatever the outcome is, we will accept it. Why introduce confusion after the process?” he said.

Obi emphasised that the rejection of electronic transmission of results by the Senate undermines public confidence in the electoral process and raises concerns about transparency and credibility ahead of future elections.

The protesters called on the National Assembly to reconsider the clause in the interest of democratic integrity.

Participants at the demonstration included members of civil society organisations, women’s groups and a handful of members of the opposition , who converged at the main entrance of the National Assembly early on Monday morning.

• Lecky

A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mustapha Lecky has stated that Nigeria is not technically prepared for mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units.

In a public statement, Lecky argued that the current push for instantaneous uploads is misplaced given the country’s continued reliance on manual voting with paper ballots rather than electronic voting.

“It doesn’t really make sense to me that we should be talking about instantaneous transmission of results live as it is happening from the polling area,” Lecky said.

He emphasized that results must first be manually counted and verified at polling units in the presence of party agents before any transmission can occur.

The EC8A form, signed by party agents, remains the critical legal document in the process.

According to Lecky, existing tools such as INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) already provide adequate transparency when properly implemented.

Lecky stressed that Nigeria lacks the nationwide infrastructure—particularly reliable mobile network coverage in many rural polling units—necessary to support real-time electronic transmission without risking widespread failures or cyber vulnerabilities.

The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has condemned in very strong terms the decision of the Senate to remove and refuse the mandatory electronic transmission of election results as proposed by the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026.

Leaders of the Steering Council of the newly launched MCE include: Dr Usman Bugaje, Prof Pat Utomi, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, Barr Femi Falana, SAN, Amb Nkoyo Toyo, Hajia (Dr) Bilikisu Magoro, Comrade Ene Obi, Comrade Salisu Mohammed, Comrade Bala Zakka, among others.

In a statement signed on Saturday in Abuja by MCE Media Coordinator, Comrade James Ezema, the group described the action of the Senate as not lawmaking, but a deliberate democratic sabotage against the aspiration of the people of the country as Mandatory electronic transmission of results is not controversial.

The body has called on the Senate to immediately reinstate and pass the mandatory electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, as well as publicly account for those members who opposed this clause, so they do not use the cover of the Senate or House of Representatives to avoid public scrutiny and explanation of their positions to Nigerians.

According to MCE, Nigerians must ensure that they are made to account for the use of legislative powers as a system they have benefited from in the last twenty six years since Nigeria became a democratic state.

According to the group, the transmission process is a minimum safeguard against result tampering, ballot rewriting, and post-election fraud, warning that any legislature that blocks it is openly defending a system that thrives on electoral corruption, stolen mandates and manufactured elections.