Electronic Transmission brouhaha: Ubani Traces the Mischief, Charts a Path to Credible Elections

Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN, on Saturday appeared on The Morning Show on Arise TV to examine the ongoing amendment of Nigeria’s Electoral Bill especially on the issue of electronic transmission by the National Assembly, offering a historical perspective on the reform and the mischief the proposed changes seek to cure.

Responding to questions on his assessment of the new bill as passed by House of Representatives and the Senate on the issue, Dr. Ubani recalled that the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in the last round of election litigation, held that the Electoral Act, 2022 made no provision for electronic transmission of results and did not mention the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV). That omission, he noted, constrained the courts and made it impossible to invalidate the presidential election on the grounds canvassed. The decision, according to him, exposed clear gaps in the law and provided compelling justification for a comprehensive amendment.

He explained that the House of Representatives last year passed a version of the amendment that mandates real-time electronic transmission of results to IReV. The Senate of Nigeria initially retained the 2022 framework but later shifted position following sustained pressure from civil society organisations and NGOs. The Senate version now provides for electronic transmission to IREV, with a proviso that where there is a communication failure, the physical Form EC8A shall serve as the primary source for collation.

While the Senate version does not expressly stipulate “real-time” transmission, Dr. Ubani observed that immediacy is implied as transmission is expected to occur once results are announced and signed at the polling unit, copies issued to party agents, and statutory procedures concluded. He added that the forthcoming conference committee, convened to harmonise the two versions, is likely to address timelines for transmission and clarify the scope of “communication failure.” In his view, the law should clearly define what constitutes such failure, identify who declares it, and consider independent verification to prevent abuse.

Dr. Ubani further clarified a persistent misconception: electronic transmission does not amount to electronic collation. Under both the existing law and the proposed amendment, collation remains manual. The IReV portal, he said, is primarily for transparency and public viewing, not for collation. While uploading results online enhances openness by allowing Nigerians to see polling unit outcomes, there is currently no legal requirement that IReV uploads be admitted as evidence.

Turning to practical safeguards during the forthcoming election, he urged political parties and citizens to deploy well-trained and experienced polling unit and collation agents. Collation agents, he stressed, must ensure they possess complete results from polling units across wards, local governments, and states before attending collation centres, and must promptly challenge discrepancies where collated figures differ from results announced at polling units as recorded on Form EC8A.

He also suggested that Nigeria could go further by enacting laws that allow the IReV platform to collate results simultaneously with the manual process at collation centres.

Ultimately, however, Dr. Ubani argued that the enduring solution lies in a transition to full electronic voting, where voting and collation are conducted electronically, thereby minimising human interference in a system vulnerable to corruption.

In a closing appeal, he called on Nigerians to cultivate a deeper sense of patriotism, urging citizens to love the country as people do in India, China, and other developed nations. Such civic commitment, he concluded, is essential to doing the right things at all times, especially during elections where fairness, integrity, and transparency must remain the guiding principles.