A coalition of Nigerian political activists and elder statesmen has launched a fierce opposition to the National Assembly’s recent decision to exclude mandatory electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026.
Under the banner of the newly formed Movement for Credible Elections, the group described the Senate’s action as a calculated move to facilitate electoral fraud ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a press statement released on Saturday, the group’s Media Coordinator, James Ezema, declared that the legislative move was not an act of governance, but one of “deliberate democratic sabotage.”
The statement read, “The action of the lawmakers is considered by MCE as a direct assault by the National Assembly to subvert the right of Nigerians to freely choose the leaders of their choice.
“By rejecting the mandatory transmission of election results from the polling units, the National Assembly has chosen opacity over transparency, manipulation over credibility, and elite conspiracy over the sovereign will of the people.”
The MCE coalition features a “who’s who” of Nigerian civil society and political reformists, including Mr Femi Falana, SAN, Prof. Pat Utomi, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, Ayuba Wabba, Dr Usman Bugaje, Shehu Sani, Amb. Nkoyo Toyo, and Veteran Olawale Okunniyi.
The coalition warned that by refusing to mandate technology, the Senate is protecting a corrupt status quo where results are vulnerable to being rewritten between polling units and collation centres.
“This is not lawmaking, it is deliberate democratic sabotage.
“Mandatory electronic transmission of results is not controversial. It is a minimum safeguard against result tampering, ballot rewriting, and post-election fraud. Any legislature that blocks it is openly defending a system that thrives on electoral corruption”, the MCE asserted
The MCE has also announced a definitive action plan to force a legislative U-turn, officially endorsing and calling for a massive “Occupy NASS” protest in Abuja.
“We are calling on all our partners and allies to join the ‘Occupy NASS Protest’ scheduled for Monday, 9th February 2026. We call on Nigerians everywhere—students, workers, traders, and professionals—to stand up and be counted,” the statement added.
The movement further demanded that the National Assembly publicly identify the specific members who voted against the electronic transmission clause, insisting they must “publicly account for their positions to Nigerians” rather than hiding under the anonymity of the chamber.
In addition to electronic transmission, the MCE is pushing for the adoption of a Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail, similar to the system used in India, to ensure that digital results remain in sync with physical documentation.
“Democracy dies when votes are allowed to be stolen. It is time to end electoral rigging in Nigeria!” the statement concluded.
