Alice Oluwadarasimi
A former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has said he would have participated in the protest led by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, at the National Assembly if he had been in Nigeria.
El-Rufai made the remark during an interview on Trust TV on Monday while speaking from Egypt, where he criticised the Senate’s decision to alter provisions on electronic transmission of election results in the proposed Electoral Act amendments.
“It’s unfortunate I have not been able to return to Nigeria. I would have joined Mr Peter Obi and other party leaders in protesting to the National Assembly to restore the real-time and mandatory transmission of results from the polling unit,” he said.
According to the former governor, real-time electronic transmission of results is critical to reducing electoral manipulation and improving public confidence in elections.
He argued that the reluctance and delay surrounding the reform were politically driven.
“Adopting real-time electronic transmission will drastically reduce rigging and improve the credibility of our elections,” he said, accusing the ruling party of resisting the measure for what he described as survival reasons.
El-Rufai also noted that the House of Representatives appeared to be more receptive to the reform, while the Senate was yet to fully embrace it.
The comments followed a protest led by Obi on Monday at the National Assembly complex in Abuja against the Senate’s decision to remove the words “real-time” from provisions on electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The demonstration, tagged Occupy the National Assembly, was organised by Nigerian youths and pro-democracy groups, who said the lawmakers’ action was aimed at weakening electoral transparency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Last week, the Senate passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill, 2026, through third reading. The removal of “real-time” from the relevant sections has since generated controversy, with critics warning that the change could open loopholes for post-election manipulation.
Although the Senate later maintained that it did not abolish electronic transmission of results, protesters insisted that the deletion of “real-time electronic transmission” undermines the integrity of the reform.
The post Electoral Act: I’d have joined Obi to protest at NASS — El-Rufai appeared first on Vanguard News.
Kyle Fasina
Leo Gbolagade
