ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, has stated that the Senate approved electronic transmissio of election results in the proposed Electoral Act amendments, dismissing reports that lawmakers endorsed only a “transfer” of results.
Umeh spoke on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Toda, amid widespread public outrage following reports from the Senate’s consideration of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026.
According to the senator, the legislative process leading to the amendment was thorough, involving multiple readings, zonal public hearings, stakeholder engagements and reports from a joint committee of the National Assembly.
“It takes a process to make a law. Bills go through readings, public hearings and consultations before passage. Laws are made to solve problems, not for the sake of it,” Umeh said.
He explained that the amendment to Section 60 of the Electoral Act 2022, which deals with the transmission of election results, emerged as a major public demand during nationwide consultations.
Umeh noted that the issue gained prominence after the disputed 2023 general elections, which were litigated up to the Supreme Court.
“During the presidential election cases, arguments were taken on whether results uploaded to the IReV portal had legal backing. The Supreme Court held that electronic transmission was not expressly provided for in the law and discountenanced such evidence,” he said.
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He added that stakeholders agreed the law needed to be amended to clearly recognise electronic transmission, to prevent courts from again dismissing electronically transmitted results as “unknown to law”.
Umeh said both chambers of the National Assembly worked on the bill independently, noting that the House of Representatives had already passed its version with explicit provisions for electronic transmission.
According to him, when the Senate considered the bill during a closed executive session, there was overwhelming agreement in favour of electronic transmission.
“Over 85 per cent of senators agreed to electronic transmission. It was common ground. Even the Senate’s ad hoc committee agreed to it,” he said.
He clarified that the only adjustment made was the removal of the phrase “in real time”, due to concerns over network challenges in some parts of the country.
Umeh said confusion arose at plenary when a motion was reportedly moved to substitute “transmission” with “transfer” without debate.
“It was only ‘real time’ that was removed. Transmission itself was never in dispute. There was no debate on it,” he said.
He warned that replacing “transmission” with “transfer” would effectively strip the provision of meaning.
“You cannot talk about transfer to the IReV portal without electronic transmission. How do you transfer to a portal if it is not done electronically?” Umeh asked.
Addressing the public outcry, the senator said Nigerians’ reaction showed that the plenary outcome did not reflect what was agreed during deliberations.
However, he stressed that the legislative process was still ongoing, noting that the Senate had not yet adopted its Votes and Proceedings from the sitting.
“We have not finished. The Votes and Proceedings have not been approved. It is only approved proceedings that go to the conference committee for harmonisation,” he said.
Umeh expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved during the harmonisation process with the House of Representatives.
“When we return to approve the Votes and Proceedings, the question will be asked whether it reflects what we actually did. I believe electronic transmission will be restored,” he said.
The Senate had on Tuesday passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, retaining INEC’s discretion to transfer results, shortening election timelines, adopting BVAS while keeping the PVC as the sole voter identification, reducing penalties for PVC trading, and setting up a conference committee to harmonise the bill.