By Ovasa Ogaga,
Former Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mike Igini, has cautioned members of the National Assembly that many may lose their seats in 2027 if mandatory, real-time electronic transmission of polling unit results is not firmly guaranteed in the Electoral Act.
In a statement titled “Proviso to Real-Time E-Transmission of Polling Unit Results: Why a Majority of Legislators May Not Return in 2027,” Igini said lawmakers risk repeating mistakes that cost many of their predecessors’ re-election.
“As the National Assembly convenes to reconcile the divergent versions of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill… I urge Honourable and Distinguished Senators to heed the salutary lessons from the misfortunes that befell their predecessors,” he stated.
Igini argued that past Assemblies ignored known loopholes that were later exploited against incumbents.
“Such lacunae were exploited to subvert polling-unit outcomes… rendering them victims of the very defects they declined to remedy,” he said.
He maintained that legislators denied party tickets often failed to convert grassroots support into victory.
“A majority of incumbent legislators… were ultimately defeated through manipulation of polling unit results during collation processes, despite robust grassroots support,” Igini added.
Warning the current Assembly, he said: “The 10th Assembly now stands perilously close to replicating this lamentable pattern.”
According to him, public demand for real-time transmission is aimed at preventing result tampering.
“Nigerians have insistently demanded real-time electronic transmission… precisely to forestall post-polling alterations. Publicly viewable results serve as deterrence,” he stated.
Igini described the high turnover rate in the National Assembly as evidence of systemic weaknesses.
“The attrition rate has averaged well above 60 to 70 per cent,” he said, noting that such instability “breeds institutional amnesia” and weakens legislative oversight.
Dismissing concerns over network challenges, Igini said: “Network concerns are therefore largely excuses and completely specious,” citing survey findings of over 97 per cent coverage.
He also warned that qualifying clauses could enable manipulation.
“The Senate’s proviso invites mischief, affording opportunities… to engineer deliberate network failures on election day,” he stated.
Igini urged lawmakers to eliminate ambiguities in the law, insisting: “Real-time electronic transmission is… essential for the sustenance of our democracy and for deserving legislature members’ political survival.”
Debates over electronic transmission remain central to amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections. While the Senate recently approved electronic transmission of results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, it stopped short of making it compulsory and rejected provisions for mandatory real-time upload.
