Obidient Movement to picket n’assembly over senate’s rejection of real-time election result transmission

The Obidient Movement has criticised the senate forrejecting mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results inthe recent the Electoral Act amendment. In a statement issued on Friday, Yunusa Tanko, nationalcoordinator of the movement, described the retention of manual collationprovisions as “a direct assault on Nigeria’s democracy” and an attempt toinstitutionalise opacity. Tanko labelled the decision as a deliberate step towardselectoral manipulation in 2027. He highlighted the controversies of the 2023 generalelection, particularly the failure to upload polling unit results to theIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal due to a reportedtechnical glitch, arguing that the senate’s latest position seeks to preservethe same vulnerabilities that undermined public confidence. “Rejecting mandatory real-time transmission is nothing shortof electoral sabotage,” the statement reads. “It erodes trust and entrenches the systems that enabledwidespread manipulation in 2023.” Tanko accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),which holds majority control of the national assembly, of double standards,noting that the party relies on electronic systems for its own internalprimaries while denying Nigerians equivalent transparency in national polls. He called for a peaceful mass march to the national assemblyto demand that both chambers convene an emergency session and pass legislationmaking real-time transmission of polling unit results to the IReV portalmandatory and non-negotiable. The national coordinator of the movement said the date anddetails of the protest will be announced through the group’s officialcommunication channels. He urged Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, civilsociety organisations, and the international community to join the resistanceagainst what he described as “a dangerous regression in democratic standards.”

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