My people, big wahala don happen for di Nigerian Senate as dem don reject di part wey go allow presiding officers to transmit election results electronically straight from polling units. Na so dem Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, come yan say no be so e go be.
Dis rejection happen on top di same day wey dem pass di Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026. Wetin dey vex many people be say, di proposed amendment wey dey Clause 60, subsection 3 dey try make electronic voting transmission mandatory, but dem no gree.
On Wednesday, February 4, di Senate gather for plenary to discuss various clauses for di Electoral Amendment Bill, na so dem come drop di ball on electronic transmission. Instead, dem still use di old method wey talks say presiding officers gats transfer results in di way wey INEC talk.
INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan, dey worry say di delay no too good as he dey beg civil societies to help push di National Assembly to quickly finalize di bill. Dem don talk say dem ready for di 2027 General Election, but wetin be di point if e no go gree deliver real-time results?
Tuesday wey pass, di senate also reduce di notice of election timeline from 360 days to just 180. Wetin dis mean be say, dem don dey rush di whole preparation, and na so many people dey fear say more wahala go dey when di election come.
Di oga of Yiaga, civil society wey dey look into election matter, Samson Itodo, don talk say wetin di Senate pass no be reforms, na betrayal of public trust. E talk say dis compressed timelines go just increase di risk of logistics wahala during di elections. Haba, how we go trust dis people again?
Akpabio don try to defend dem move, talk say dem no reject electronic transmission, but dem just bring di old provisions back. He insists say dem still dey allow electronic transmission wey dey part of di law. Wetin dem wan do? Make we just dey watch how di whole saga go unfold as 2027 elections dey approach.
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