“Stop Playing With Fire”: Oby Ezekwesili Slams Senate Over Electoral Act Loopholes and Electronic Result Transmission

Former Minister of Education and prominent civic leader Oby Ezekwesili has sharply criticised the Nigerian Senate for retaining what she described as dangerous loopholes in the recently amended Electoral Act, insisting that citizens are demanding mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units to restore trust in the democratic process.

Speaking in an interview on ARISE News on Friday, February 6, 2026, Ezekwesili argued that the Senate missed a critical opportunity to close the infamous Section 60(5) provision of the 2022 Electoral Act, which became a focal point of controversy after the 2023 general elections.

“I think the fundamental issue is that the Senate retained the INEC 2022 Act Section 60, subsection 5, which actually became infamous for the loophole that it provided for INEC to not accord Nigerians the basis to trust it anymore,” she said.

She recalled the assurances given by the then-INEC chairman ahead of the 2023 polls, particularly to young voters. “The chairman kept telling especially the young people of this country that he was assuring them that they would exercise the effectiveness of using online transmission into the INEC results viewing portal,” Ezekwesili noted.

When those assurances were not fulfilled, the failure to upload results in real time fuelled widespread suspicion, legal challenges, and judicial rulings that ultimately weakened public confidence. “When they failed to do that, it became the basis for doubting what happened at polling units in the country,” she said. “It became the basis on which the judicial pronouncements were made that actually the law does not mandate INEC to upload results at every polling unit.”

Ezekwesili stressed that the amendment process was widely seen as a chance to eliminate such ambiguities and rebuild credibility. “The opportunity for reform of the INEC Act was embraced by citizens,” she said, “and so every ambiguity, every loophole, every opportunity for discretion on a matter that is at the heart of transparency, integrity, credibility, and legitimacy of democracy must be taken.”

She described the Senate’s decision as a betrayal of public expectations and warned lawmakers that they were risking long-term damage to democratic trust. “If that then went before the Senate and the Senate decided to do a sort of let sleeping dogs lie… the citizens have every reason to be as outraged as they currently are,” she said.

Ezekwesili rejected claims that public demands for accountability amounted to incitement. “Nigerian democracy belongs to the people,” she emphasised. “It doesn’t belong to the politicians.”

She pointed to the low turnout in the 2023 presidential election – less than 35% of registered voters – as evidence of deep disillusionment. “Our incumbent president, do you know how many Nigerians voted him? Less than 35% of the registered voters came out to vote. It means they’ve checked out,” she said. “And you now go ahead and make them more uninterested with this?”

She urged the Senate to immediately reconvene from its two-week break and pass a clear provision mandating real-time transmission. She read out the proposed clause: “The presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the INEC results viewing portal, IREV, in real time,” after results forms are signed and stamped.

Ezekwesili concluded with a stark warning: “Stop playing with fire. It’s almost as if the political class, especially as exemplified by the Senate, just wakes up every morning and says, what shall we do today to upset Nigerians?”