Former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Monday joined Nigerian youths and civil society groups in a protest at the National Assembly, Abuja, against the Senate’s decision on electronic transmission of election results.
The demonstration, tagged “Occupy National Assembly,” was organised by pro-democracy activists and youth groups calling on lawmakers to reverse their stance on the electronic transmission provision in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Addressing protesters at the entrance of the National Assembly complex, Obi criticised the Senate’s position, urging legislators to allow the electoral process to operate without restrictions. He said any outcome from a transparent process should be accepted rather than altered through legislative provisions.
“Allow the election to go through the normal process. Whatever the outcome is, we will accept it. Why introduce confusion after the process?” Obi said.
He warned that rejecting electronic transmission of results could erode public confidence in elections, raising concerns about transparency and credibility ahead of future polls.
Protesters maintained that electronic transmission of results is essential to strengthening trust in Nigeria’s electoral system and appealed to the National Assembly to reconsider the clause in the interest of democratic integrity.
The protest drew participants from various civil society organisations, women’s groups and a small number of opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) members, who gathered early Monday at the main entrance of the complex.
Security was visibly heightened around the National Assembly, with operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps deployed to maintain order. Officers were positioned at strategic points as protesters chanted slogans and displayed placards demanding the restoration of electronic transmission of election results.
The protest follows the Senate’s recent passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, during which lawmakers rejected a proposal to make electronic transmission of results mandatory—a decision that has continued to draw criticism from civil society organisations and opposition figures nationwide.
