Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Monday joined hundreds of protesters at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja to oppose the Senate’s decision to remove the words “real-time” from the section of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill that deals with electronic transmission of election results.
The protest, known as Occupy the National Assembly, was organised by members of the Obidient Movement and other pro-democracy activists. They accused lawmakers of taking steps that could weaken electoral transparency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Last week, the Senate passed the Electoral Act 2022 Amendment Bill after a third reading. One of the controversial changes in the bill is the removal of “real-time” from provisions on electronic transmission of results. Critics say this could create loopholes for manipulation after voting has taken place.
Although the Senate later clarified that it did not completely remove electronic transmission from the law, protesters argued that failing to clearly mandate real-time transmission weakens safeguards against interference during result collation.
The protesters marched from the Federal Secretariat towards the National Assembly, chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with messages such as “Our votes must count,” “No to electoral robbery,” and “Protect democracy now.”
However, security personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps blocked access to the National Assembly complex. As a result, the protesters held their demonstration outside the main gate.
Speaking to journalists at the protest ground, Obi warned that Nigeria’s democratic progress was being gradually eroded. He stressed that credible elections are essential for national stability, development and public trust.
He called on the National Assembly to pass laws that clearly require electronic transmission of election results, saying Nigerians have already suffered from flawed election processes in the past.
Obi said the country does not want a repeat of past election controversies and urged lawmakers to restore confidence in the system by strengthening electoral safeguards.
His presence at the protest energised many participants, particularly supporters who see him as a key figure in the youth-driven political movement that gained momentum during the 2023 general elections.
The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, said the protest would continue until the National Assembly clearly restores real-time electronic transmission of results in the amended Electoral Act.
He argued that manual handling of results has caused problems in previous elections and said electronic transmission was introduced to reduce such interference and improve credibility.
Nigeria’s push for electoral reforms gained momentum after the widely criticised 2007 general elections. Since then, reforms such as the introduction of card readers in 2015 and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System in 2022 have been seen as steps toward improving transparency, despite challenges in implementation.
Civil society groups have consistently argued that electronic transmission of results is crucial to reducing human interference and restoring public confidence in the electoral process.
Another speaker at the protest, activist Randy Peters, accused political leaders of undermining democracy and said protesters would continue to return to the National Assembly until their demands are addressed.
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