Former Labour Party presidential candidate and a leading presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi, on Monday joined protesters at the National Assembly complex in Abuja under the #OccupyNationalAssembly movement, demanding that the Electoral Act amendment bill explicitly mandate real-time electronic transmission of election results.
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The protest followed the Senate’s passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026, in which lawmakers removed the phrase “real-time” transmission of results during the third reading. Although the Senate has issued clarifications denying that it rejected electronic transmission of election results entirely, protesters insist the law must clearly require real-time electronic transmission to avoid ambiguity.
Speaking at the protest ground, Obi urged the Senate to take concrete steps to prevent a repeat of the technical challenges recorded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2023 general elections. He said real-time electronic transmission must be expressly enshrined in the law to ensure transparency and public confidence in elections.
“Allow the elections to go through the normal process. Whoever wins, we would accept,” Obi said, as demonstrators chanted solidarity songs. “So, why are you bringing this confusion?”
The protest drew members of civil society organisations, student groups, women’s organisations, ADC supporters, and the Obidient Movement. Demonstrators marched from the Federal Secretariat to the National Assembly gate, where they held a peaceful rally.
Security presence was heavy, with personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps deployed around the complex. The National Assembly entrance was barricaded, but protest organisers said they had no intention of forcing entry, insisting the demonstration would remain peaceful and limited to the gate.
The controversy stems from the Senate’s consideration of clause 60(3) of the amendment bill, which proposed that presiding officers electronically transmit results from each polling unit to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal in real time after Form EC8A had been signed and stamped. The proposal would have made real-time electronic transmission compulsory.
However, the Senate rejected the amendment and instead retained section 60(5) of the existing Electoral Act 2022, which allows INEC to determine the manner of result transmission. Lawmakers also reduced the timeline for INEC to publish notices of election from 360 days to 180 days.
The decision sparked widespread backlash on social media and from organised labour. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened mass action, while the Senate has scheduled an emergency plenary sitting for February 10 to address concerns arising from the amendment.
Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, said the emergency session was convened on the directive of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Protesters maintain that anything short of a clear legal provision for real-time electronic transmission could undermine electoral transparency ahead of future elections.
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