Former INEC Commissioner Mike Igini speaking at a Yiaga Africa roundtable on electoral technology and results transmission.
Former Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, has criticised provisions in the 2026 Electoral Act, warning that changes to the legal framework governing electronic transmission of results could undermine transparency and electoral credibility.
Speaking at a roundtable organised by Yiaga Africa, Igini described the new provisions as a “copy regression” that reverses gains made in strengthening Nigeria’s electoral process through technology.
Debate Over Electronic Transmission
Igini said controversies surrounding electronic transmission of results should have been resolved by now, given Nigeria’s decade-long journey with electoral technology.
According to him, innovations such as biometric voter registration, smart card readers, and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were introduced to address historical challenges of vote manipulation and electoral fraud.
He explained that electronic transmission was designed to enhance transparency by sending polling unit results directly to a central viewing portal, thereby limiting opportunities for alteration during collation.
“The whole idea was to serve as a deterrent. Once results are transmitted in real time, they are visible and difficult to tamper with,” he said.
Constitutional Questions
Igini argued that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) derives its regulatory powers directly from the Constitution, particularly in making guidelines and procedures for elections.
He maintained that INEC’s regulations, issued under constitutional authority, have the force of law as subsidiary legislation.
However, he said a provison introduced in the 2026 Electoral Act makes electronically transmitted results secondary to manually completed Form EC8A, describing the clause as a “killer provison” that effectively weakens electronic transmission.
“While the law appears to permit electronic transmission, it simultaneously makes the manually signed result form the primary source in all cases,” he noted.
According to him, this conditional framework creates room for disputes over network availability and transmission compliance.
Contributing chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission Festus Okoye, said while the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) remains a very good and innovative device, the 2026 Act contains drafting inconsistencies that could create confusion in implementation.
He recalled that the Smart Card Reader was initially introduced through INEC guidelines but was not expressly recognised in the Electoral Act until the 2022 amendment.
According to him, the National Assembly has now replaced references to the Smart Card Reader with BVAS in some sections of the 2026 Act but failed to make the substitution uniformly across the law.
READ ALSO
- EX-INEC Official Warns of Legal Ambiguity in 2026 Electoral Act
- Adamawa Governor Fintiri Joins APC From PDP
- Fubara Appoints New SSG, Chief of Staff
Okoye cautioned lawmakers against embedding specific technological names in statutes, arguing that technology evolves rapidly.
Electoral reforms
The roundtable focused on the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral technology framework ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Former INEC ICT Director, Engr. Chidi Nwafor, traced Nigeria’s technological electoral reforms to early digitised voter registration efforts in 2003 and the eventual introduction of biometric systems under former INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega.
Earlier, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, called for the immediate release of the signed 2026 Electoral Act, citing uncertainty over specific sections of the law.
Stakeholders at the forum emphasised the need for clear regulatory frameworks, legal consistency, and institutional safeguards to strengthen public trust in the electoral process.
The discussions formed part of broader civil society efforts to ensure that technological reforms contribute to credible, transparent, and accountable elections.
About the Author
