The Obidient Movement Worldwide has warned that it may organise a mass protest against the National Assembly following the Senate’s rejection of a proposal to make real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory, saying the decision could weaken the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
The group’s National Coordinator, Yunusa Tanko, issued the warning in a statement released in Abuja on Friday, although no date was announced for the planned demonstration.
The reaction followed the Senate’s decision to vote down an amendment to Clause 70(3) of the Electoral Amendment Bill, which sought to compel the electronic transmission of results from polling units.
Earlier, Senate President Godswill Akpabio explained that lawmakers did not discard electronic transmission altogether, noting that the Senate retained the existing provision of the Electoral Act. The law states that presiding officers shall transmit results, including the number of accredited voters, in a manner prescribed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a statement titled ‘Obidient Movement Rejects Non-Passage of Electronic Transmission of Results, Calls for March to National Assembly’, Tanko criticised the Senate’s action, describing it as a move that preserves manual collation of results under the 2022 Electoral Act.
He said the decision represented a deliberate effort to enable electoral manipulation ahead of the next general elections and amounted to a setback for electoral reforms.
According to him, Nigerians have consistently demanded reforms that ensure transparency and credibility in the electoral process, warning that failure to mandate electronic transmission would further erode public confidence in democracy.
Tanko linked the development to controversies surrounding the 2023 general elections, which were marked by disputes over result transmission, arguing that the absence of full electronic transmission contributed to mistrust and allegations of manipulation.
He also accused the political leadership of prioritising elite interests over democratic values and criticised what he described as Nigeria’s slow pace in adopting technology to strengthen electoral integrity, compared with other African countries.
The Obidient Movement further accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of inconsistency, alleging that while the party deploys electronic processes for its internal affairs, it resists similar transparency at the national level.
Announcing plans for a peaceful protest, Tanko called on Nigerians to join a march to the National Assembly to demand urgent legislative action.
He urged both chambers of the legislature to reconvene and pass a law mandating real-time electronic transmission of election results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IREV), insisting that timely action was necessary to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy.
“A New Nigeria is Possible,” he added.
