SENATORS have whittled down the provision for electronic transmission of results in the report of its committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The report of the committee, headed by Senator Kabiru Gaya on the Electoral Act 2016 (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was considered clause by clause on Thursday.
The lawmakers were divided over provisions of Section 52(3) on electronic transmission of results.
The section reads: “The commission may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.”
The senator representing Niger North, Sabi Abdullahi, proposed an amendment to the section, with proviso that the nation’s telecommunication regulatory agency, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), should determine when electronic transmission be deployed, subject to the approval of the National Assembly.
The proposed amendment, which eventually sailed through, reads in part: “The commission may consider electronic transmission of results provided the national network coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by the National Communications Commission.”
The senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, seconded the amendment, while Senator Albert Bassey Akpan proposed that the original draft be retained. The contentious amendment which carried the day was resolved through physical voting. Lawmakers had faulted the position of the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who ruled in favour of the amendment. After the uproar, the Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, called for division in line with Order 73 of the Senate rules.
Lawan, thereafter, mandated the Clerk to the Senate, Ibrahim Ladan, to conduct the physical voting.
At the end of the voting which lasted for over 40 minutes, in which 80 senators voted, the APC lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the amendment proposed by Senator Abdullahi.
Fifty-two senators voted ‘No’ in favour of the amendment by Senator Abdullahi, as against 28 that voted ‘Yes’ for the retention of the original clause recommended by Senator Gaya’s committee.
Incidentally, Senator Gaya, the chairman of the committee on INEC, voted against his committee’s recommendation.
Investigation revealed that one senator on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Stephen Odey, representing Cross Rivers North, did not align with his colleagues on the platform of the main opposition party as he voted ‘No’ in support of the amendment by Senator Abdullahi.
Further breakdown of the voting process revealed that 28 senators were absent at the plenary Despite the pronouncements of the six South-West governors in favour of electronic voting and transmission of results at their meeting with the federal lawmakers last week, the senators representing the zone voted in favour of the amendment by Senator Abdullahi.
All the senators from Ogun State were absent while only Senator Kola Balogun representing Oyo South took part in the voting, as the two others — Teslim Folarin and AbdulFatah Buhari, representing Oyo Central and North, respectively were absent.
Two out of the three Lagos State senators, Oluremi Tinubu and Olamilekan Adeola, representing Lagos central and West, respectively voted for the amendment. Their counterpart from Lagos East, Tokunbo Abiru, was absent.
The APC senator representing Ondo North, Robert Ajayi Boroffice, voted ‘No’ for the amendment while his Ondo Central counterpart and PDP senator, Ayo Akinyelure, voted ‘Yes’ for the retention of electronic voting as recommended by the committee.
Senator Nicholas Tofowomo from Ondo South was absent.
The two APC senators from Osun State, Ajibola Basiru and Adeyemi Oriolowo, Osun Central and West, respectively voted in favour of the amendment by Senator Abdullahi, while the PDP senator representing Osun East, Francis Fadahunsi, voted in favour of electronic transmission as recommended by the committee.
Senator representing Ekiti Central, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, voted in favour of the amendment of the clause while PDP senator representing Ekiti South, Biodun Olujinmi voted that the clause be retained as submitted by the committee.
The APC senator representing Ekiti North, Olubunmi Adetumbi, was absent. Lawan, in his concluding remarks, said the recourse to physical voting as against the usual practice of voice vote was a victory for democracy.
He said: “We have gone through probably the most rigorous process we ever had. We at a point had to go through a division, but that is democracy. No hard feelings and I’m sure that Nigerians will appreciate the depth of concern by all of us here.
“Those who voted for amendments and those who voted against, each one of us did so out of conviction for what we believe will be better for this country.
“In this case, the Electoral Amendment Bill has now been passed by the Senate and we expect that the House of Representatives, our counterparts will do the same.
“If in any case we have a single difference between our version and theirs, there will be a committee to harmonise, the conference committee.
“If, however, there is no difference between what we have passed here and what they would have passed in the House, this Bill will now be sent to Mr President for his assent.”
Speaking after the session, Senate spokesman, Senator Basiru, said the senators did not reject electronic transmission of election results, adding that what was in contention was the wording of Section 52 (3) of the proposed Electoral Act. He said the senators voted against was he termed ‘the nebulous wordings of Section 52(3) as initially proposed’.
Reacting, however, the PDP accused the APC senators for undermining the electoral process by refusing to approve the electronic transmission of results without conditionalities. In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said the action of the APC senators is an atrocious assault on the sensibilities of Nigerians, who looked up to the Senate for improvement in electoral process in a manner that will engender free, fair and credible process. It, therefore, asked lawmakers in the House of Representatives to return to the chamber today and save the nation.
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