Former Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Chief Peter Ameh, said the Nigerian Senate’s amendment to Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which now permits the conditional electronic transmission of election results from each polling unit, is cosmetic.

Ameh, in a statement, said there is no meaningful difference between the amendment of the clause and the previous provision.

“The Senate has merely introduced a conditional escape hatch that guarantees continued confusion, manipulation, and distrust in our electoral process,” he stated.

According to him, by tying electronic transmission to the unreliable caveat of system non-failure, the Senate has deliberately created a lacuna that could be exploited by those who wield state authority, particularly the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ameh said the twist allows for manual interference at collation centres whenever it suits those in power, under the pretext of technical glitches.

“The more the law appears to change, the more it remains the same: six of one, half a dozen of the other, as the saying goes.

“This amendment does not reflect the overwhelming wishes of Nigerians for mandatory, real-time electronic transmission of results to the IREV portal without conditions or loopholes.

“Instead, it betrays public trust, preserves vulnerabilities to result alteration, and undermines the credibility of future elections, including those in 2027,” he added.

He described the Senate’s action as a disregard for the aspirations of the Nigerian people for transparent, free, and fair elections.

“We call on all patriotic Nigerians, civil society organisations, the media, and international observers to reject this half-hearted reform and demand genuine electoral justice.

“Our votes must count, and our democracy must not be held hostage by self-serving political senators,” Ameh asserted.