By Peter Omopo
A wave of protests erupted in Abuja on Monday as youths and civil society groups mobilised against the Senate’s rejection of compulsory electronic transmission of election results.
Operating under the banner “Occupy National Assembly,” the demonstrators converged on the federal capital to protest the Senate’s position on the Electoral Amendment Bill, particularly its decision to remove provisions mandating the electronic transmission of election results.
Security agencies were placed on high alert as the protest gathered momentum. Personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were deployed in large numbers around strategic government locations, including the National Assembly complex.
Reports from TVC News indicated that the protest attracted a broad coalition of civil society organisations, youth groups, and persons with disabilities, all united in their demand for a transparent, credible, and technology-driven electoral process.
The protesters insisted that the compulsory electronic transmission of election results is essential to curbing electoral malpractice and strengthening public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
Former Anambra State Governor and presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, was among the prominent figures at the protest. Obi led a group of demonstrators in a march toward the National Assembly, calling for a reversal of the Senate’s decision and the inclusion of mandatory e-transmission of results in the proposed Electoral Act.
However, access to the legislature was blocked as security operatives shut the gates of the National Assembly, preventing Obi and other protesters from entering the premises.
The protest follows the Senate’s decision last Wednesday to reject an amendment to Clause 60, subsection 3, of the Electoral Amendment Bill, which sought to make electronic transmission of election results compulsory.
As of the time of filing this report, protesters had commenced a march from the Federal Secretariat toward the National Assembly, defying heavy security presence in the area.
