Ezekwesili Pushes for Mandatory E-Transmission of Results

Dr. Obiag Ezekwesili, a former Vice President of the World Bank and former Minister of Education, has made a strong case for the mandatory electronic transmission of election results in Nigeria.

In a statement on Tuesday, she accused certain lawmakers of attempting to undermine electoral transparency by opposing this reform. Ezekwesili emphasized that democracy belongs to citizens, not political office holders, and that the failure to enshrine electronic transmission into law would leave room for discretionary actions that could erode public trust in the electoral process.

She highlighted the success of e-transmission in previous off-cycle elections and noted that once voting concludes, results from polling units are entered into a prescribed form (EC8A), signed by party agents, and subsequently uploaded to a public portal by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Ezekwesili argued that making e-transmission mandatory would significantly reduce result manipulation and curb electoral malpractice, thus strengthening the integrity of the ballot and ensuring credible elections.