The Senate has defended its recent changes to the Electoral Act, saying the amendments were made after careful consideration and in the best interest of Nigerians.
Speaking on Tuesday on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu emphasized that the National Assembly approached the amendment process with seriousness.
“Anyone who loves Nigeria will know that what we have done today is the best for Nigeria,” Adaramodu said.
He brushed aside criticisms against the amendments, stressing that lawmakers were not swayed by public pressure.
“We don’t play to the gallery. Then the minor minority that are so melodramatic about it, we don’t look at them to make laws because principles of lawmaking are not just something like eating amala,” the Ekiti South senator added.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved changes to the Electoral Act to allow electronic transmission of election results while also providing measures for technical issues that might occur during elections.
The move reversed the chamber’s earlier position, which had rejected mandatory electronic transmission of results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal.
That earlier stance drew criticism from opposition parties, civil society groups, and other stakeholders.
During an emergency plenary on Tuesday, senators agreed to include electronic transmission in the electoral process, although they removed the phrase “real-time” from the provision.
Lawmakers also decided that if there are internet connectivity problems, Form EC8A will continue to serve as the main document for collating results.
Defending the changes, Adaramodu said the legislative process was deliberate and thorough.
“We don’t do something that we just wake up just on impulse and just say something, and then you say you have made a law. You have to be very thorough. You have to be very painstaking,” he explained.
“It must be so painstakingly done that the flaws must not be so latent to the extent that it can repudiate whatever good trust that Nigerians will have in our system.”
Adaramodu added that the range of opinions generated during the amendment process was a sign of healthy democracy.
“Like we know in Nigeria, and everywhere else where democracy is thriving — and we want democracy to thrive — there will be shades of opinions. There will be shadows of ideas, and then we have to listen to all,” he said.
