Former Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner and legal practitioner, Mike Igini, has warned that most members of the National Assembly risk losing their seats in the 2027 general elections if the current controversy surrounding electronic transmission of election results is not properly resolved.
Igini described the situation as a potential case of institutional self-harm by the National Assembly, particularly over the proviso seeking to qualify or limit real-time electronic transmission of polling unit results. He cautioned that failure to guarantee mandatory electronic transmission could undermine public trust and ultimately work against lawmakers seeking re-election.
In a press statement, Igini urged senators and members of the House of Representatives to reflect on the experience of past Assemblies, many of whose members lost their seats after declining to strengthen the country’s electoral framework. According to him, lawmakers who ignored obvious weaknesses in the law later became casualties of the same system they failed to reform.
He noted that as the National Assembly moves to harmonise the differing versions of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, lawmakers must pay close attention to the widespread public demand for the compulsory electronic transmission of results directly from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal. He stressed that any provision that weakens this process could reopen loopholes long associated with electoral malpractice.
Igini argued that previous National Assemblies, often acting out of political convenience or party loyalty, refused to address well-known vulnerabilities in the electoral system. These gaps, he said, were later exploited to manipulate polling unit outcomes, sometimes by political actors who eventually denied those lawmakers return tickets.
As a result, he explained, many legislators became victims of defects in the law they had chosen not to fix. He warned that repeating such actions could produce similar outcomes in 2027.
Igini advised lawmakers to prioritise long-term institutional credibility over short-term political interests, noting that credible elections are essential not only for democracy but also for the political survival of elected officials themselves. He concluded that strengthening electronic transmission provisions would protect both the integrity of elections and the legitimacy of future legislatures.
