The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the Senate is attempting to undermine electoral transparency through what it described as a “backdoor plot” to weaken the real-time electronic transmission of election results.
The statement was signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, and issued on Tuesday.
The party reacted to the Senate’s reconsideration of its earlier position, which introduced an addendum allowing manual transmission of results where technology fails.
“We hold the firm view that this addendum is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to achieve the same objective as the earlier outright rejection, while pretending to align with the wishes of the Nigerian people,” the PDP said.
The party stated that manual transmission is already sufficiently provided for under the Electoral Act.
“The current agitation for electronic transmission is aimed at introducing a second-layer authentication mechanism that prevents the alteration of results en route to collation centres a malpractice that has historically been the bane of Nigeria’s electoral process,” the statement read.
It further argued that it is inconceivable for the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which successfully undertakes accreditation throughout an election, “to suddenly become unreliable for the transmission of results and accreditation data arising from that same exercise.”
The PDP stated that the Senate’s caveat reflects deep-seated fear among lawmakers opposed to electronic transmission, particularly Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
“They must be reminded that Nigeria is bigger than their narrow personal and political interests,” the party stated.
Urging the Conference Committee to adopt the version of the Electoral Amendment Bill passed by the House of Representatives, the PDP said “They must rise above the instincts of politicians fixated on the next election and instead focus on the sustenance of democracy and the protection of future generations.”
The statement warned that “should this democracy fail, the names of Senator Akpabio and all Senators who voted against electronic transmission will undoubtedly occupy a conspicuous chapter in the book of infamy.”
The PDP also urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in their demand for real-time electronic transmission of election results.
“This is no time for excuses. This hard-won democracy is far too valuable to be left in the hands of politicians alone,” it said.
