Electoral Act: What I Saw Was Treachery, Deceit. It Was 419, The Way We Know It In Nigeria — Okonkwo

A lawyer and ADC chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo, has condemned how the Nigerian Senate passed the electoral reform bill, arguing that the inclusion of a proviso allowing manual transmission of results makes it treachery, deceit, and 419, the way we know it in Nigeria.

He made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television, where he reacted to the emergency session convened by the Senate as a response to public demand for Senate President Godswill Akpabio to pass the electoral reform bill.

According to Okonkwo, Nigerians have consistently demanded unconditional electronic transmission of polling unit results to protect votes from manipulation between polling units and collation centers.

He clarified that Nigeria does not practice electronic collation of results but instead relies on electronic preservation, storage, and transmission of manually generated polling unit results.

He explained that this process is designed to safeguard the integrity of votes and prevent interference after voting ends. He warned that introducing discretion to revert to manual transmission reopens the door to irregularities that have plagued past elections.

He argued that INEC created the IReV portal and has not reported persistent failures in uploading results since its introduction. He also referenced the BIVAS device used for voter accreditation, noting that when BIVAS fails, elections are cancelled and rescheduled rather than reverting to manual processes.

He insisted that allowing manual transmission legitimizes claims of technical glitches and mirrors controversies from the 2023 election cycle. He added that the proviso in law effectively weakens the main clause on electronic transmission and undermines electoral transparency.

In his words, “Well, what I saw today was treachery. It was a deceit. It was 419, the way we know it in Nigeria, obtained by false pretense.”

“First of all, Senator Mugunu told Nigerians that they had to summon this session in order to listen to the yearnings of Nigerians, in order to take their will into consideration. What did they end up doing? They took their own will into consideration through the back door.”

Click On The Link To Watch The Video (0:38 to 1:11 minutes).

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