Senate President Godswill Akpabio has defended the National Assembly’s ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act, insisting that critics are misjudging lawmakers based on an incomplete legislative process.
Akpabio maintained that the Senate did not remove electronic transmission of election results, clarifying that lawmakers only questioned the requirement for mandatory real-time transmission.
He spoke in Abuja as the special guest of honour at the unveiling of a book, The Burden of Legislators in Nigeria, authored by Senator Effiong Bob, according to a statement shared with Sunday SOCIETYGIST.
His comments followed criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups over reports that the Senate had rejected mandatory real-time electronic transmission in the amended law. On Saturday, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) urged the Senate to explicitly include electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the NBA argued that retaining the existing provision—allowing results to be transmitted “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission”—weakened the legal framework for transparent elections and created room for manipulation.
Responding to the criticism, Akpabio said the Senate had not concluded work on the bill, describing the public debate as premature.
“The Electoral Act amendment is incomplete. We have not completed it, but they are already on television. They don’t understand lawmaking,” he said.
“They don’t even know that what is in the Senate is not completed until we look at the Votes and Proceedings.”
The Senate President criticised what he described as the “abuse” of the legislature by some commentators and civil society actors, accusing them of attempting to impose their views on lawmakers.
“People have become mouth legislators. If you want to talk about lawmaking, go and contest election,” he said, adding that agreements reached during retreats were not binding on plenary proceedings.
Akpabio stressed that no method of result transmission had been removed from the proposed amendment.
“I must state clearly, without ambiguity, that the Senate has not removed any means of transmission. If you want to use a bicycle to carry your votes, do so. If you want to use your phone or iPad, do so,” he said.
According to him, lawmakers objected only to the phrase ‘real time’, warning that it could create legal complications if network failures occur during elections.
“If you say real time and there is a grid failure or network problem, someone will go to court and say it ought to have been real time,” he explained.
Akpabio argued that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be allowed to determine the mode and timing of transmission within the framework of the law.
He warned that insisting on real-time transmission could invalidate election results in areas affected by insecurity or poor connectivity.
“In over nine states where networks are not working because of insecurity, there will be no election results. If the national grid collapses and networks fail, no results will be valid,” he said.
The Senate President cautioned that electoral reforms must reflect Nigeria’s institutional and technological capacity, warning that misunderstanding legislative processes could undermine democracy.
“When people do not understand their legislature, democracy is at risk. Democracy is measured not by passion alone, but by principles,” he added.
Earlier, the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Senate President, David Mark, who chaired the event, urged the National Assembly to pass the law without pre-empting INEC’s decisions.
“Pass the law and let INEC decide whether it can do it or not. Don’t speak for INEC,” Mark said.
Other speakers at the event, including Akwa Ibom State Governor Pastor Umo Eno and the book reviewer, Professor Maxwell Gidado (SAN), praised Senator Bob for highlighting the challenges faced by Nigerian legislators.
In his remarks, the author listed key challenges confronting lawmakers, including electoral disputes, conflicts with governors and political godfathers, judicial reversals of electoral victories, pressures from constituents, and internal party struggles.