Senate To Hold Emergency Plenary Over E-Transmission Controversy

The Senate will be holding an emergency plenary session on Tuesday amid growing controversy over electronic transmission of election results.

THE WHISTLER had reported on Thursday, that the Senate rejected the electronic transmission of election results from the polling units to the central server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The lawmakers’ action had generated heated controversy and harsh criticisms from various interests groups as well as members of the public.

Apparently worried by the growing scathing criticisms and verbal attacks on the Senate leadership, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has summoned senators to emergency plenary.

According to a notice released by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, late Sunday night, the plenary session will commence at 12pm.

The Senate had adjourned plenary until 24th February, shortly after it passed the controversial Electoral Act amendment on Thursday, 5th February.

The Senate leadership has been struggling to explain details of what it passed regarding electronic transmission of results.

The Senate Committee Chairman on Information and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, told journalists after Thursday’s plenary that the upper legislative chamber did not reject electronic transmission of results.

According to him, what the Senate rejected was the term “in real time,” attributing the action to network signal issues that could affect the immediate transmission of election results.

Adaramodu said, “The Senate did not reject electronic transmission of results. What we rejected was the “in real time” clause.

“In doing so, we considered remote parts of the country where network signal is very poor or unavailable. Now, how do you define ‘real time’ in such circumstances?

“Can we now define ‘real time’ as five minutes, or 30 minutes? That is where the problem is.”