Adaramodu insists lawmakers acted in national interest as revised clause mandates electronic upload of results—subject to network availability—while retaining manual result sheets as primary record.

Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, has robustly defended the upper chamber’s controversial amendment to the Electoral Act, declaring that lawmakers acted “painstakingly” and in the overriding interest of Nigerians despite mounting criticism over the electronic transmission of election results.

Speaking on Tuesday after an emergency plenary session, Adaramodu addressed public backlash that followed the Senate’s earlier rejection of mandatory real-time transmission of results. In a significant policy shift, the Senate has now approved conditional electronic transmission of polling unit results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

Under the amended Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, presiding officers are required to electronically transmit results after completing, signing, and stamping Form EC8A—the official physical result sheet—with countersignatures from available party agents. However, the new provision introduces a critical safeguard: where communication or network failures occur, the manually signed and stamped Form EC8A will serve as the authoritative document for collation and declaration of results.

The revised clause notably drops the term “real-time,” a sticking point that had sparked public outrage and protests when lawmakers initially voted against making instant electronic transmission mandatory. While the amendment stops short of guaranteeing immediate uploads, it formally integrates electronic transmission into the electoral process, contingent on technical feasibility.

Defending the Senate’s approach, Adaramodu stressed that the legislative process was deliberate and thorough.

“It must be so painstakingly done that the flaws must not be so latent to the extent that it can repudiate whatever good trust that Nigerians will have in our system,” he said.

He maintained that the amendment strikes a necessary balance between technological advancement and practical realities on the ground.

“Anyone who loves Nigeria will know that what we have done today is the best for Nigeria,” Adaramodu added.