Electoral Act Dispute Deepens as Atiku Accuses Senate of Hiding Loopholes

Former presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has labelled the decision by the Senate to reject the real-time electronic transmission of election results as a deliberate attack on electoral transparency.

In a statement released on Wednesday, February 4, the decision is a major setback for the country ahead of the 2027 general elections. He says the move weakens public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy.

The former vice president warned that the choice by the Senate continues to support a system that has historically enabled result tampering.

“At a time when democracies across the world are modernizing their electoral systems through D-technology, the Nigerian Senate has opted to maintain opacity and protect loopholes that allow manipulation and post-election disputes,” he said.

“Every reform that strengthens transparency is resisted, while every ambiguity that benefits incumbency is preserved,” he added.

He stressed that real-time electronic transmission is not a partisan demand but a democratic safeguard.

“It reduces human interference, limits result manipulation, and ensures that the will of the voter expressed at the polling unit is faithfully reflected in the final outcome,” Atiku said.