Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Backs Real-Time Electronic Transmission, Warns Senate’s Decision Threatens Democracy

|By Chinwendu Nwani

Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has openly endorsed the call for compulsory real-time electronic transmission of election results, following the Senate’s rejection of a key amendment to the Electoral Act.

The Senate, on Wednesday, voted down a proposed alteration to Clause 60, Subsection 3 of the Electoral Amendment Bill, which sought to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory. The decision immediately triggered public outrage, with critics and social media users accusing lawmakers of laying the groundwork to manipulate the 2027 general election.

Reacting to the development, Akpoti-Uduaghan threw her weight behind the rejected amendment, insisting that the refusal to mandate real-time electronic transmission could undermine Nigeria’s democratic process.

In a post shared on her Facebook page on Thursday, the senator made her position clear, stressing that credible elections depend on transparent result transmission.

“I, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, support the real-time electronic transmission of results. Failure of such a step is a lethal assault on Nigeria’s democracy,” she wrote.

Her stance has intensified the debate around electoral reforms, as pressure mounts on the National Assembly to revisit provisions seen as critical to ensuring free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.