President Bola Tinubu has defended his decision to sign the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) Bill into law, maintaining that credible elections depend more on effective human management and oversight than on mandating real-time electronic transmission of results.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja shortly after appending his signature to the amended Electoral Act, Tinubu addressed the intense national debate over whether election results should be compulsorily transmitted electronically in real time from polling units to a central server. Critics, including civil society groups and opposition parties, have argued that automatic live electronic transmission would reduce result manipulation and enhance transparency.

However, Tinubu stressed that technology alone cannot guarantee the credibility of elections, particularly in a country where broadband and telecommunications infrastructure remain inconsistent. He emphasised that human beings — not computers — ultimately administer and finalise elections. “No matter how good the system is, it’s managed by the people, promoted by the people, and the result is finalised by the people,” he said, adding that accredited officials will continue to announce results.

The President noted that Nigeria’s voting process remains largely manual — from the issuance of ballots, thumbprinting, and voting, to counting and collation — with electronic transmission serving only as a tool to upload arithmetic results after manual collation. He underscored that election integrity involves more than technology. Without proper management, training, and oversight, mandated digital transmission could be vulnerable to glitches, interference, and hacking, he argued.

Under the amended Act he signed, results are to be electronically transmitted after Form EC8A — the official polling unit result sheet — is completed, signed, and stamped. However, in the event of network or technical failure, the manually signed form will serve as the basis for result collation and declaration.

Tinubu’s remarks come amid broader political reactions: supporters argue the law provides a balanced approach given infrastructural realities, while critics — including opposition parties — warn that relaxing compulsory real-time transmission could open loopholes for result manipulation. Despite these disagreements, the President voiced confidence in Nigeria’s democratic development, insisting that careful process management will help prevent disenfranchisement and allow democracy to flourish.