—– Urges lawmakers to prioritize the interest of the nation over personal or political gains, stressing that the credibility of future elections depends largely on the decisions taken now.
A Public Affairs Analyst and Member, Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter, Emeka Odom, made this known on Tuesday, 10th February, 2026, while speaking on a topic “Peter Obi, Electoral Reforms and National Assembly Protests,” on the programme, Political Conversations on Freedom Square TV, anchored by Uchenna Cyril Anioke.
Odom, called on the National Assembly to uphold the electronic transmission of election results as a critical step toward ensuring free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria.
He emphasized that real-time electronic transmission of results would significantly reduce manipulation, enhance transparency, and restore public confidence in the nation’s democratic process.
According to him, “Nigeria is not aversed to free and fair elections. Most people desire elections to be free and fair just like any other contest. It should be free, fair and it should be safe. People of good conscience should identify with it. Wherever one goes he should be able to look back and say, I am satisfied. But sometimes also, we have to recognize that human beings sometimes do not want his power to be eroded. You have a situation whereby elections are being held but maybe the system is still not yet above average, that creates room for all kinds of attitudes. Those who benefit from that kind of system obviously will be aversed to any reform that will ultimately disempower them from continuing on whatever thing they were doing. That is why it looks like a few people are acting anti-clockwise. But ultimately the good people of Nigeria, men and women of conscience all over the world, are not aversed to free and fair elections. In fact they desire, pray and look forward to free and fair elections.”
Odom stated that credible elections remain the foundation of good governance and national development, noting that technology has become an indispensable tool in modern electoral systems across the world.
“Electronic transmission of results is not a threat to democracy; rather, it is its strongest safeguard. It minimizes human interference and ensures that the true will of the people is reflected,” Odom stated.
However, he expressed concern that a few politicians are working “anticlockwise” by resisting reforms aimed at strengthening the electoral process. “These individuals are afraid of a transparent system because it limits their ability to manipulate outcomes. But Nigeria must move forward, not backward,” he added.
“At the Senate emergency meeting, the Senate passed both manual and electronic transmission of results together. The implications according to them is that in a polling unit where the network fails, the Presiding officer can now resort to the manual collation of form EC8A and so they amended the clause 60 of the electoral Act to reflect that. However, that on itself throws up another issue—INEC had already told us that the BVAS is equipped with facilities that even if you are in a place where there is no network, just snap once you finish filling form EC8A and you have gotten the necessary signatures—the party agents, security officers and it is displayed to the satisfaction of those who want to observe the results collation at the polling units. It is raised up and everybody agrees, the presiding officer should snap the form and upload it in the BVAS, even if there is no network you should not bother. Once you live that environment, along the line when going possibly to the ward collation centre, once it picks a network it will go through.”he said.
He therefore called on civil society groups, youths, and voters to remain engaged in advocating for electoral integrity, noting that sustained public pressure can help ensure meaningful reforms.
As debates continue over amendments to the Electoral Act, stakeholders across the country are increasingly pushing for technology-driven solutions to curb electoral malpractice and deepen democracy in Nigeria.
Odom’s remarks add to the growing voices demanding that the National Assembly embrace reforms that will guarantee transparent, accountable, and credible elections in the years ahead.