Emergency Senate Session Looms As E-Transmission Uproar Deepens

 

The Senate has fixed an emergency plenary for Tuesday following mounting public outrage and political backlash over its controversial position on the electronic transmission of election results.

The upper chamber had earlier adjourned plenary till February 24 after passing amendments to the Electoral Act last Thursday, including provisions that sparked widespread debate over the mode and timing of transmitting election results.

However, in the wake of intense criticism from civil society groups, political stakeholders and members of the public, Senate President Godswill Akpabio has summoned lawmakers back for an emergency sitting.

A notice issued late Sunday by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, confirmed that the emergency session will commence at 12 noon.

The controversy followed reports that the Senate rejected the electronic transmission of results directly from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) central server — a development that triggered sharp reactions nationwide.

But the Senate Committee Chairman on Information and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, denied that lawmakers opposed electronic transmission in its entirety. He clarified that what the Senate objected to was the use of the phrase “in real time,” citing technical challenges in areas with poor or nonexistent network coverage.

According to Adaramodu, insisting on real-time transmission could create operational difficulties in remote locations.

“The Senate did not reject electronic transmission of results. What we rejected was the ‘in real time’ clause,” he said.

He explained that unreliable network signals in several parts of the country make it difficult to define what qualifies as real-time transmission, raising questions over whether it should mean minutes or longer delays.

Senate leadership is expected to further clarify its position during the emergency plenary as pressure continues to mount over the amendment.