- Senate spokesman criticised protesters over e transmission rejection.
- Peter Obi, Amaechi joined Occupy National Assembly protest.
- Okonkwo said amendment weakens electronic result transmission mandate.
The Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, has criticised Nigerians protesting against the National Assembly’s rejection of real time electronic transmission of election results, saying citizens complain about every development.
Prominent politicians, including the Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, joined other demonstrators in Abuja under the banner “Occupy National Assembly” to protest the Senate’s decision on e transmission.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Adaramodu dismissed the protest and described the demonstrators as habitual critics.
“Those people you saw on the street are always there, even for good things.
“If you give them a road, they will say it is not wide enough. If you give them electricity, they will say the light is not bright enough.
“It’s the same people on the street, and they will continue to be there.”
He maintained that opposition to legislative decisions was not new and suggested that critics would continue to challenge government actions regardless of intent.
Meanwhile, a member of the African Democratic Congress, Kenneth Okonkwo, accused the Senate of undermining Nigeria’s democratic process through its proposed amendment to the Electoral Act.
In a statement titled, “Nigerians are duped by the Senate,” shared on his 𝕏 handle on Tuesday, Okonkwo faulted the amendment to Section 60 of the Electoral Act.
The amendment allows electronic transmission of election results but permits manual collation where electronic transmission is considered impossible.
Okonkwo criticised a proposal by Senator Mohammed Monguno, which provides that manually generated Form EC8A may be used for collation if electronic transmission cannot be carried out.
According to him, the provision weakens the objective of electronic transmission by making it optional rather than mandatory, raising fresh concerns over transparency and electoral credibility.
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