A civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, has urged the National Assembly to release the Electoral Act reportedly signed by President Bola Tinubu, warning that continued delay undermines public trust in the electoral process.
President Bola Tinubu recently signed the amended electoral bill into law following its passage by both chambers of the National Assembly.
Following the amendment to the Act, Yiaga Africa’s Executive Director, Samson Itod,during a policy roundtable on electoral technology and election results management, in Abuja over the weekend.
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Itodo said citizens remained in the dark about critical provisions of the 2023 Electoral Act, especially those relating to the hierarchy of election results and electronic transmission.
“It is one thing to pass an Act and another thing for the law to be available to citizens.
“As of this moment, we have not seen the signed Electoral Act,”he said.
He described citizens as key stakeholders and warned that uncertainty over whether electronically transmitted results or physical copies would take precedence could weaken confidence in elections.
According to him, accountability and integrity in electoral technologies directly affect whether voters believe their votes will count and whether election outcomes will be seen as legitimate.
Also speaking at the event, former Resident Electoral Commissioner with Independent National Electoral Commission, Mike Igini, recalled that electronic transmission of results was successfully piloted as far back as 2012 in Cross River State.
Igini said results were transmitted from polling units to local governments during the governorship election, but legal constraints at the time, particularly Section 52 of the Electoral Act, later stalled wider adoption.
He criticised what he described as resistance to technology, noting that the Supreme Court had ruled in 2015 that tools like card readers ought to be backed by law.
Igini added that biometric and electronic systems had since been used to conduct several elections and party primaries, insisting that existing legal provisions already empower INEC to adopt appropriate procedures.
He warned that ignoring court decisions and undermining technology investments could further damage the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral system.
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