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By Goli Innocent
Dr. Usman Bugaje, has said mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results remains the surest way to guarantee free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria, insisting that the Electoral Act must be amended to remove all ambiguity.
Speaking on ARISE News, the Islamic Scholar, Political Activist, and Civil Society Leader said the proposed amendment became necessary following a Supreme Court ruling that exposed gaps in the existing law, making clarity, accuracy and precision unavoidable.
According to him, the objective of the amendment is simple: to ensure that election results are available electronically and instantly, allowing Nigerians to see votes as they are cast and counted across polling units.
“The whole idea is to conduct transparent elections. The best way to do that is to make results available electronically in real time, so everybody can see exactly where the votes are,” he said.
Dr. Usman Bugaje noted that even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had, in its submissions, supported mandatory real-time transmission of results, adding that the House of Representatives had already acted accordingly by passing provisions to that effect.
However, the political activists criticised the Senate, accusing its leadership of repeatedly frustrating key legislative reforms and misleading the public.
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“This is not the first time the Senate has been caught napping or acting irresponsibly in its lawmaking duties,” he said, citing past controversies surrounding tax laws and budget padding.
He argued that the Senate’s actions have contributed to serious governance problems, including the existence of multiple unimplemented budgets, which he said has made economic planning difficult for businesses and investors.
“As a result, businesses cannot plan because they don’t know which budget will be funded or implemented,” he added.
The Civil Society Leader described the Senate leadership as one of the country’s major challenges, questioning the value of legislative leadership that undermines democratic and economic stability.
He said there is now a groundswell of public support, including among lawmakers themselves, in favour of mandatory real-time transmission of election results, stressing that Nigerians would not accept anything less.
“Nigerians are ready for real-time transmission. They are not prepared to accept anything short of that,” he said.
