“Don’t Insult the Intelligence of Nigerians,” Ezekwesili Slams Senate Over Electoral Act Review
- Oby Ezekwesili has criticised the Senate after it retained optional electronic transmission in the Electoral Act
- She warned that discretionary systems have undermined trust and left transparency negotiable since the 2023 elections
- Ezekwesili, however, urged immediate Senate action to make real-time result transmission mandatory before the 2027 polls
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has criticised the Senate’s decision to retain provisions that make real-time transmission of election results optional under Nigeria’s Electoral Act.
Source: Twitter
The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, February 4, which seeks to amend Nigeria’s electoral framework ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Reacting on Friday, February 6, via Arise News, Ezekwesili said the core problem with the ongoing review of the Electoral Act is the Senate’s decision to retain Section 60, Subsection 5 of the INEC Act 2022.
According to her, the provision became controversial after the 2023 general elections because it allowed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) discretion over electronic transmission of results, a loophole she said eroded public trust.
Ezekwesili noted that many Nigerians had welcomed the opportunity to amend the law to remove ambiguities and limit discretionary powers that could undermine transparency in elections.
However, she argued that the Senate failed to act in line with public expectations.
“The Senate decided to do a sort of ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ when indeed that was not the intention,” Ezekwesili said.
"The citizens have every reason to be as outraged.”
Has Senate ignored lessons from 2023?
Similarly, in a public memo shared on X on Thursday, February 5, Ezekwesili accused the Senate of deliberately preserving ambiguity despite witnessing its consequences in 2023.
"No one is deceived. The Senators must never again insult the intelligence of Nigerians by pretending this is about “INEC’s independence” or “operational flexibility,” she wrote.
She dismissed claims that the Senate did not reject electronic transmission of results, arguing that a system that is optional and unenforceable offers no protection against manipulation.
“Electronic transmission that is optional, discretionary, and unenforceable is no safeguard at all against the systemic electoral fraud that has plagued our country,” Ezekwesili said.
Warning of broader implications, she said the decision signals that transparency remains negotiable in Nigeria’s electoral system.
Ezekwesili urged the Senate to reconvene and amend the bill to make real-time electronic transmission of results mandatory, warning that failing to do so could deepen public distrust and electoral tensions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Source: Facebook
"I am therefore certain that the Nigerian Senate now knows what it must do immediately," she added.
"Senators, cancel that emergency two-week break announced today, all return to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly complex, and in a broadcast Plenary Session, unanimously pass into law the exact text of the reform that was proposed to the clause on electronic transmission of results."
Watch her comments here:
Opposition parties reject Senate’s move on results transmission
In a related development, Legit.ng reported that opposition political parties in Nigeria have rejected the Senate’s decision to oppose the electronic transmission of election results, describing the move as a threat to credible elections.
The parties argued that electronic transmission would enhance transparency and public confidence, and dismissed the Senate’s stance as a step backward in electoral reforms needed for the 2027 polls.
They urged the National Assembly to reconsider and adopt digital transmission as part of broader reforms to improve the integrity, speed, and verifiability of election outcomes.
Source: Legit.ng
