Senator Seriake Dickson, a member of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters in Nigeria, says the decision to remove the words “real time” from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill does not reduce election transparency or weaken the plan for electronic transmission of results.
In an interview on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, Dickson said the Senate’s latest decision still makes it compulsory for results to be sent electronically from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV).
The Senate reviewed Clause 60(3) after public criticism and restored electronic transmission of results, but kept a proviso that permits manual collation if there is network failure. Some critics argue that taking out the “real-time” wording could allow manipulation before results appear online.
Dickson said the main goal was to keep IREV protected as a tool for transparency and public confidence. He noted that he was sharing his personal view and not speaking as an official spokesperson of the Senate.
He explained that discussions on electronic transmission had gone on for nearly two years and included meetings and engagements with INEC and other stakeholders.
Dickson also said he was absent when the Senate earlier rejected compulsory electronic transmission because he was grieving a personal loss. He described that earlier decision as unfortunate, especially because INEC had previously told lawmakers it had the capacity to transmit results electronically.
On the debate around “real time”, he argued that the phrase was being misunderstood because Nigeria does not conduct electronic voting. He said what matters more is securing polling unit results and ensuring the official record is uploaded.
He pointed to the EC8A, the polling unit result sheet used by INEC, as the key evidence of who won an election, and said uploading that result to IREV is central to transparency.
Although he said he did not support the network-failure proviso, Dickson argued that parliamentary decisions are often based on majority positions. He stressed that the general rule in the bill remains that presiding officers must transmit results electronically, calling it mandatory.
He added that election reforms can take time and often come in steps, but said making electronic transmission compulsory is progress.