Senator Umeh Gives Detailed Clarification on Senate’s Amendments to Electoral Act

Victor Umeh, the senator representing Anambra Central, has said that more than 85% of senators supported the electronic transmission of election results during deliberations on the Electoral Act amendment.

On Wednesday, the Senate retained the provision for electronic transmission of results as contained in the Electoral Act 2022.

However, the red chamber rejected proposals for real-time transmission of results and a 10-year ban for vote buyers, choosing instead to maintain the existing penalties of fines or jail terms.

The clarification followed public backlash after reports claimed that lawmakers had rejected electronic transmission and stricter sanctions for electoral offences.

Speaking on Thursday during an interview, Umeh said claims that the Senate rejected electronic transmission of results misrepresented the chamber’s decision.

He explained that the resolution emerged from an extensive legislative process involving readings, consultations and public hearings across the country.

“It takes a process to make a law. A bill must go through readings, public hearings and consultations before debate and passage. Law is not made by the national assembly alone. It is made by carrying Nigerians along,” he said.

Umeh noted that the controversial nature of the 2023 general elections heightened public expectations that the amended Electoral Act would improve credibility and restore confidence in future polls.

He said the amendment of Clause 60 of the Electoral Act 2022, which addresses the transmission of results, enjoyed unanimous backing during the Senate’s consultations.

According to him, the issue featured prominently at retreats, zonal public hearings and joint sessions organised by the National Assembly on the bill.

“It is good to say that in all these retreats, all these zonal public hearings, all the consultations and joint sessions we had, one issue received unanimous approval and demand from the public, and that is to amend Clause 60 of the Electoral Act of 2022 as it affects transmission of results,” he said.

Umeh reiterated that stakeholders agreed to clearly provide for electronic transmission of results in order to avoid future legal ambiguities.

“It is based on these that all the stakeholders decided that this amendment will provide for the electronic transmission of results, so that where there is a dispute again, the court will not say that it is unknown to law,” he said.

The lawmaker added that both chambers worked separately on the amendment, noting that the House of Representatives had already passed its version with explicit provisions for electronic transmission.

Umeh further said that 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.

“Of course, it was debated exhaustively, because their committee retained the electronic transmission of results on what they brought back to the senate,” he said.

“Over 85% of senators agreed to electronic transmission. It was common ground. Even the ad hoc committee of the senate agreed to it.”

He also dismissed claims that the provision was removed during plenary, insisting that no such debate took place.

“Eventually, I heard that somebody said they want to expunge ‘transmission’ and somebody seconded. It was not debated,” he said.

“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.”

Umeh explained that polling unit results would be transmitted electronically to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), adding that the only change approved was the removal of the phrase “in real-time” due to concerns over possible technical delays.