Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, has clarified that the Senate unanimously approved the electronic transmission of election results in the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, contrary to public reports suggesting that lawmakers endorsed only a “transfer” of results.
Umeh made his remarks on Thursday while guesting on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amidst mounting public outrage over reports regarding the Senate’s consideration of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
He explained that the legislative process for the amendment was thorough and deliberate, involving initial and subsequent readings, zonal public hearings, stakeholder consultations, and reports from a joint committee of the National Assembly.
“It takes a process to make a law. A bill must go through readings, public hearings and consultations before debate and passage. Laws are not made for the sake of it; they are made to solve problems,” Umeh noted.
According to the senator, amendments to Section 60 of the Electoral Act 2022, addressing the transmission of election results, emerged as a key public demand during nationwide consultations.
He pointed out that the issue became particularly pressing following the disputed 2023 general elections, which led to litigation up to the Supreme Court.
“During the presidential election cases, arguments focused on whether results uploaded to the IReV portal had legal standing. The Supreme Court ruled that electronic transmission was not explicitly provided for in the law, thus dismissing such evidence,” he stated.
‘85% Agreement’
Umeh stated that stakeholders reached a consensus that the law must be amended to include electronic transmission, so that courts would not dismiss electronically transmitted results as “unknown to law.”
He explained that both chambers of the National Assembly worked on the amendment separately, adding that the House of Representatives had already passed its version of the bill with explicit provisions for electronic transmission.
According to him, during the Senate’s closed executive session, there was overwhelming consensus favoring the electronic transmission of results.
“Over 85 percent of senators agreed to electronic transmission. It was common ground. Even the ad hoc committee of the Senate supported it,” he stated.
Umeh clarified that the only modification agreed upon in the executive session was the removal of the phrase “in real time,” due to concerns about potential network challenges in certain areas.
He indicated that confusion arose during plenary when a motion was reportedly introduced to replace “transmission” with “transfer” without any debate.
“It was only ‘real time’ that was expunged because of network issues. Transmission itself was never in dispute.
“There was no debate on (transmission). If debate had been allowed, it would have taken us back to the executive session where the issue had already been exhaustively discussed and resolved,” the senator added.
Umeh contended that substituting “transmission” with “transfer” would render the provision ineffective.
“You cannot discuss transfer to the IReV portal without electronic transmission. How can you transfer to a portal if it is not executed electronically?” he asked.
Senator Umeh stressed that the Senate never agreed to revert to the wording of the 2022 Electoral Act, which referred to the “transfer” of results.
Public Outcry
Addressing the public outcry regarding the situation, Umeh stated that the reactions from Nigerians indicated that the outcome of the plenary did not reflect what had been debated and agreed upon.
He expressed the public’s expectation for a more credible and transparent electoral process.
However, he emphasized that the legislative process was not yet finalized, as the Senate had not yet adopted its Votes and Proceedings from the sitting.
“We have not completed our work. The Votes and Proceedings from yesterday have not been approved. Only approved proceedings move to the conference committee for harmonization,” he explained.
Umeh expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved during the harmonization process with the House of Representatives.
“When we reconvene to approve the Votes and Proceedings, the question will arise as to whether it truly reflects what we did. I am convinced that the agreed position on electronic transmission will be restored,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Senate passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, maintaining the current provision that allows INEC to transfer results as it sees fit, rather than mandating electronic transmission.
The amendment shortened election timelines, adopted BVAS while retaining the PVC as the sole voter ID, reduced penalties for PVC trading to two years in prison with a ₦5 million fine, and established a conference committee to harmonize the bill.
