Ijaw National Congress criticises Senate electronic election ruling, warning it deepens voter apathy and threatens electoral transparency in Nigeria
Benjamin Okaba, global president of the Ijaw National Congress, has condemned the Nigerian Senate’s handling of the electronic transmission of election results, warning that the decision undermines transparency and risks fuelling voter apathy.
Also read: Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti and His Crowned Princes
Speaking during an interview on Friday, Okaba clarified that the Senate did not formally reject e-transmission but effectively weakened its legal force, leaving result uploads vulnerable and discretionary under current law.
“They argue, with compelling evidence, that this protects the incumbent and the powerful, and actively favours the architecture of rigging.
Yet the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, said the Senate did not reject e-transmission. A clever, legalistic deflection,” Okaba said.
He described the outcome as a blow to voter confidence, stating: “This decision pours petrol on the flames of voter apathy. It tells the young, the hopeful, the reform-minded that the system is not serious about changing.”
Okaba emphasised that the measure was intended to create a permanent, public digital record of votes at polling units, preventing manipulation during collation at ward, local government, and state levels.
He criticised the Senate for choosing discretionary and delayed transmission, leaving no firm legal anchor to protect electoral integrity.
“The Senate rejected finality. They rejected the simple, powerful idea that the vote cast by the citizen in the sunlight should be the same vote that is counted at the end of the journey,” he added.
“The fight for credible elections has just moved from the floor of the Senate back to the polling units and the streets.”
Also read: Tinubu Meets APC Leaders Ahead of Inclusive National Convention
The INC president warned that the decision represents a retreat from transparency and accountability, highlighting the persistent challenge of electoral fraud in Nigeria and the urgent need for legal and technological safeguards ahead of the 2027 elections.
