Breaking: APC Senators Reject Electronic Transmission of Election Results
- Members of the Senate have finally decided on whether or not there should be an electronic transmission of results in the future election
- The decision was reached on Wednesday, July 15, after the voice votes by the members who were present during the plenary
- Kabiru Gaya, the chairman of the Senate INEC committee, Kabiru Gaya and other 51 APC senators voted against it while 28 PDP members voted in favour of it
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FCT, Abuja - Amid a rowdy session, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Senate on Thursday, July 15, voted against electronic transmission of results.
The Punch reports that the committee had, in the report, recommended in section 52(3) that, INEC may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.
Legit.ng gathered that an APC senator from Niger North, Sabi Abdullahi, amended the clause to read that INEC may consider electronic collation of results, provided the national network coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secured by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and approved by the National Assembly.
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According to the report, members of the committee on communications had earlier informed the chamber that the NCC had declared that only 43% of the country was currently under effective telecommunications coverage.
The president of the Senate, Ibrahim Lawan, ruled in favour of the amendment when he conducted a voice vote.
However, there was a disagreement and the minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, called for a division that would require individual voting on the floor as Lawan sustained Abaribe’s point of order and called for a division.
52 APC senators vote against electronic transmission of election results
At the end of the poll, 88 senators voted, while 28 were not available to vote.
Sahara Reporters also reports that the outcome of the election showed that 52 APC senators, including the chairman of the Senate INEC committee, Kabiru Gaya, voted against the panel’s report, which gives the electoral umpire the sole power to determine the practicability of electronic transmission of results.
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the floor all voted in favour of electronic transmission of results by INEC without interference from either the NCC or the National Assembly.
The APC members, while casting their votes against the amendment, attributed their decision to the claim of the NCC that only 43% of the country has network coverage.
The PDP senators, on the other hand, said allowing the NCC and the National Assembly to meddle in the affairs of INEC will affect the integrity of the polls.
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Senate approves Buhari’s $8.3bn, €490m external loan request
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Senate approved the $8.3 billion (N8,325,536,537) loan request tabled before it by President Muhammadu Buhari.
It was reported that the lawmakers also approved a separate €490 million loan request by the Nigerian leader.
The fund was approved on Thursday, July 15, after the Senate considered the report of the committee on local and foreign debts.
Source: Legit.ng
