Aare Amerijoye DOT.B

The Narrative Force issues this statement as a clear, firm, and uncompromising indictment of the Nigerian Senate, an institution that has once again revealed itself as a central obstacle to the Nigerian people’s long-denied right to free, credible, and transparent elections.

By rejecting mandatory electronic transmission of election results and deliberately retaining the dangerous ambiguities embedded in the Electoral Act 2022, the Senate has chosen its side. Not democracy. Not the electorate. Not progress. But opacity, confusion, and the preservation of loopholes historically associated with electoral manipulation.

This was not an error of judgment.It was not a misunderstanding.It was a conscious legislative decision.

Behind procedural technicalities and rhetorical evasions lies a stark truth: reform threatens entrenched interests, and clarity disrupts systems that thrive on ambiguity.

The facts are clear. The House of Representatives acted in the national interest by amending the Electoral Act 2022, replacing the vague word “transfer” with the precise and technologically accurate word “transmit,” thereby seeking to make electronic transmission of results mandatory and enforceable. This was not a matter of semantics; it was an attempt to close a loophole that has repeatedly generated controversy, litigation, and public distrust.

The courts did not create the problem; they interpreted the law as written. Judicial reliance on the word “transfer” led to outcomes that many Nigerians questioned, particularly where manual collation processes became the centre of dispute. That controversy flowed directly from legislative imprecision.

The House sought to correct that defect. The Senate has declined to adopt that correction.

In doing so, the Senate positions itself against the growing national demand for stronger electoral safeguards and technological certainty in result management.

Let it be stated plainly: a legislature that resists clarity undermines confidence, and a legislature that hesitates on transparency weakens democratic trust.

Our position is unequivocal. The Senate must harmonise the Electoral Act with the House amendment mandating clear, enforceable electronic transmission standards, alongside measurable accountability mechanisms for non-compliance. Anything less perpetuates avoidable suspicion and deepens public cynicism.

Electronic transmission is not a concession. It is a democratic safeguard and a global standard in modern electoral administration.

Nigeria deserves better.
And Nigerians will continue to demand better.

Signed,

Aare Amerijoye DOT.B
For: THE NARRATIVE FORCE