By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday defended signing the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment), saying credible elections rely more on proper management and human oversight than real-time electronic transmission of results.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tinubu emphasized that elections are ultimately conducted by people, not computers, and stressed that final results are announced by electoral officials, not machines.
He raised concerns about Nigeria’s technical readiness for mandatory real-time result transmission, citing broadband limitations and the risk of glitches or interference. “Voting remains fundamentally manual from ballot issuance to counting. Electronic transmission reflects only the arithmetic record,” he said.
The amendment, which sparked debate in the National Assembly, allows electronic transmission after Form EC8A is signed and stamped. Where technology fails, manually signed forms will serve as the official record.
Tinubu expressed confidence that the law will support free, fair, and credible elections while safeguarding democracy.
