Abbas: Why N’Assembly Included Electronic, Manual Transmissions in Electoral Act

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen has said that the National Assembly included both electronic and manual transmissions of results in the amended Electoral Act to avoid disenfranchising the Nigerian electorate and prevent voter apathy during the 2027 general election.

Abbas noted that due to inadequate internet penetration in the country, it would be counterproductive to allow only one—electronic—form of results transmission in the Electoral Act.

He spoke when he hosted the Ambassador of Spain in Nigeria, Ambassador Felix Costales, during a courtesy call over the weekend at his office in Abuja.

He received the Spanish Ambassador in the company of the Chairman House Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Abubakar Bichi; the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Wole Oke; and the Chairman of the Nigeria-China Parliamentary Friendship Group, Hon. Jafaru Yakubu.

Abbas in a statement issued yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Musa Krishi said based on his interaction with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, the 2027 general election “will be more transparent, accommodating, and inclusive.”

On the Electoral Act, the Speaker said, “…as you said, sometimes people scream far beyond the exact level of the issue. A lot of people think that we need to embrace electronic transmission real-time in Nigeria, but within the very little period that you’ve been in Nigeria, you should be able to speak on the quality of our internet network.

“You should know that even in advanced cities like Abuja, you are not guaranteed stable internet services all the time.

“Based on the NCC report, they said Nigeria is still underserved by almost 40 per cent, which means 40 per cent of territories at large in Nigeria are not covered by the internet.

“Now, tell me, for those who are saying we should go ahead and do that, already if you look at the number of our registered voters in this country, it is alarming.

“It is sad to say that even with the manual arrangement we are using, we are only able to capture about 12-15 per cent of registered voters who, after every four years, come to vote. That’s voter apathy. Very few people go out to vote.

“Now, if we are to introduce (only) the electronic system, it will further reduce the number because 40 per cent of the country will probably not be able to vote as they don’t have adequate internet services. It means what we should be expecting is not only disenfranchising the voters—denying some people the right to vote—we will also record, perhaps, the lowest number of voters in the next elections.

“These are all avoidable. That is why we said, in our wisdom, the Electoral Act should be hybrid—a combination of both the manual and electronic systems.

“Where it is feasible to use the electronic, use the electronic transmission; where it is not possible, use the manual, because there is no way one form, particularly the electronic, can be used entirely in all parts of the country for the elections.”

Abbas explained that members of the opposition who rose against the inclusion of both electronic and manual transmission of results know the true situation of the inadequacy of internet services in the country.

He added: “The opposition, even though they know the truth—they are Nigerians, they live in Nigeria, they travel all over Nigeria—they know that the level of internet penetration in Nigeria is inadequate.

“There is no way you will be able to have transparent elections using an inadequate system, and through our energy crisis in the country as well, we do not have enough electricity.

“The internet is always backed by energy; how do you power the entire country on the day of election to have phones that are working and internet that is working, backed by adequate electricity? All those are challenges that, for now, will not be able to provide us the opportunity to do transmission real time online.”

The Speaker stated that every democracy is a work in progress, noting that. “In our entire democracy, we will continue to improve year after year, election after election. America is not what it is today (just like that) if you look at its history. All democracies undergo challenges. I believe Nigeria, with the support of countries like Spain, will do better.

“We expect you to continue to guide us and give us all the technical advice and support to do better, particularly in the National Assembly, through collaboration between your country and our parliament. It will go a long way in strengthening our competence, particularly in areas of legislative drafting and so on. I believe with what you have in Spain, Nigeria can benefit a lot.”

Explaining that Nigeria is doing its best to improve its democracy, Speaker Abbas said, “You cannot say you have everything that you require. You keep on learning. We believe that Nigeria is not doing badly, even though it may not be at the rate that the international community would want to see, but we are moving slowly and gradually.

“I assure you that the next election is going to be more transparent, more accommodating, and more inclusive than the previous ones. I had the singular opportunity of being with the new INEC chairman. I heard all his plans—what he is planning to do. I believe if all that he said is implemented, Nigeria will move forward.”

Earlier, Contales said his visit was to seek the understanding of the Nigerian Parliament to deepen bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the area of legislative diplomacy.

He said Spain would follow the 2027 elections closely, assuring that, “You can count on us—whatever we can do to deepen Nigerian democracy. Yes, there may be challenges, but you can count on us in any way possible.”

“I know it is a busy time for the parliament with the approval of a new Electoral Act. I wanted to come and visit you before then.

“ We have the elections here already. Because of the importance of your country, we want to deepen parliamentary diplomacy with Nigeria. It is not yet as developed as we have with other nations, but it is something we should try and welcome in the future, maybe after the elections.”

On the elections, he said, “Of course we are going to follow closely the electoral period ahead of us. It is a long period; elections are always big times; opinions are always polarized. Sometimes when you dig down, you realize that the issues are not that big, or not as big as they seem in the public discourse.”