Senator Victor Umeh has disclosed that lawmakers are increasingly becoming targets of public criticism following the controversy trailing the amendment of the Electoral Act.
The senator made the disclosure on Thursday, the 5th of February, 2026, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he addressed concerns surrounding the legislative process and the backlash it has generated.
Umeh explained that lawmakers were taken by surprise after certain alterations were introduced at the Senate stage of the amendment, deviating from earlier understandings reached during consultations.
He noted that the proposed changes were originally intended to fix shortcomings identified in past elections, especially legal disputes arising from the courts’ refusal to recognise electronically transmitted election results.
According to the senator, previous elections were marred by claims of technical failures, which led courts to disregard electronic results because such provisions were not explicitly recognised under the existing Electoral Act.
He said the amendment sought to address those gaps, improve clarity in the law and reinforce the credibility of the electoral process.
Umeh added that the bill enjoyed overwhelming support throughout its consideration, stressing that there was little to no resistance during its passage.
He argued that the widespread public reaction currently being witnessed suggests that removing electronic transmission of results from the amendment does not align with public expectations, noting that lawmakers have since been subjected to intense criticism.
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Umeh said: “You don’t introduce surprises in the middle of a process. This thing has been agreed to by everybody, and it is in accord with the expectations of the Nigerian people. There is no way we can have an election that was conducted and the results were made available, then along the line there was a complaint of a glitch in the presidential election, and everything went to court, and the court says it will not make use of the electronic transmission of results because it was unknown to the Electoral Act.
“That is why lawmaking is ingenious. You do that with a view to correcting the lapses and anomalies of the past. That is why, from all the processes this amendment went through, nobody opposed it. It was very popular. And as it has happened, I want to tell you that if it was not against the public interest, the level of outcry it has generated would not be so high, because we, the senators, are under barrages of attacks and have been insulted.”
Meanwhile, the Senate recently passed the Electoral Act amendment bill after its third reading but turned down a proposal to amend Clause 60, Subsection 3, which sought to make the electronic transmission of election results compulsory.
The decision came amid mounting pressure from the media and other stakeholders, who insist that electronic transmission remains critical to delivering transparent, credible and fair elections ahead of the 2027 general polls.