The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has told the National Assembly to include electronic transmission of election results from polling units in the proposed amendment to the Electoral Amendment
The NBA’s National Executive Council, in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, said it adopted a report by the NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN), asking lawmakers to approve the amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the bill.
NEC met in Maiduguri, Borno State, on February 5, 2026, and said the report “highlighted the urgent need to mandate the electronic transmission of results to strengthen transparency and public confidence in elections.”
According to the NBA, the amendment would require Independent National Electoral Commission presiding officers to transmit results in real time to the INEC Result Viewing portal “immediately after Form EC8A has been duly signed, stamped, and countersigned by party agents.”
According to the Association, NEC the Senate’s decision to retain the current wording in the Electoral Act—which allows results to be transferred “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission”— was weakening “the legal foundation for transparent elections and leaving room for manipulation and ambiguity.”
It warned that discretionary phrasing in the law “undermines democratic accountability” adding that “clear statutory compulsion, rather than discretionary wording, is essential to guaranteeing electoral transparency, protecting the integrity of votes cast, and restoring public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.”
The Association said credible elections are “the bedrock of constitutional democracy” and called on lawmakers to demonstrate “legislative responsibility and statesmanship by voting in favour of the proposed amendment compelling the electronic transmission of election results.”
