Clement Nwankwo, the Convener of the Civil Society Situation Room, has warned that the current form of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill passed by the Senate could damage the legitimacy of future elections and has asked Nigerians to keep speaking out against its features.
After the Senate passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill 2026, Nwankwo made the decision on Thursday while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
He added that a number of senators were unhappy with the way the decision was made and that the version approved by the Senate did not reflect the views of the majority of legislators.
According to Nwankwo, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may face logistical difficulties and electoral chaos as a result of the Senate’s rejection of electronic transmission of election results and its modification of elections timeframes.
He called on people to advocate for the House of Representatives’ version, which he claimed better represented input from stakeholders and public consultations.
Nwankwo said: “I think citizens have to raise their voices. I know that the ‘Situation Room’ organized a protest last week. I believe that this will continue.
“I think the labor unions, citizens, the media have been doing excellent job, even in your program, your analysis and your comments on these issues are so very important, and it is important that this continues.
“What I see that has been passed is really the views of those who have the power to hit the gavel and decide whether a yes is a yes or a no is a no in terms of voting.
“But I know that a lot of senators themselves are very aggrieved by the way the gavel have been hit on this matter.
“And I think that citizens should canvas that the version that the House of Representatives has passed, which is very much more in consonance with the consultations that the National Assembly has had with citizens, should be what is retained.
“But as it is today, what the National Assembly has done, the Senate, particularly, is not the views of majority of senators. I am told what has happened is going to create electoral chaos.
“There is no way that these timelines that the Senate has tampered with will stand in terms of INEC’s logistics preparations. What has happened is that electoral chaos will be created by this new timelines that the Senate has put out as its position.”
Recall that the law was approved by the Senate on Wednesday following its third reading. However, a suggested modification to Clause 60, Subsection 3, which would have required the electronic transmission of election results, was rejected.
Pressure from the media and other interested parties, who contend that electronic results transmission is essential to guaranteeing free, fair, and legitimate elections in advance of the 2027 elections, led to the development.
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