Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, has explained why many actors within Nigeria’s political space are uncomfortable with the electronic transmission of election results, saying their fears are tied to the influence and transparency the system brings to the process.
Itodo made the remarks while appearing on Sunday Politics, on the 8th of February, 2026, a programme aired on Channels Television, where he addressed ongoing debates around electoral reforms and technology-driven voting processes.
His comments followed reports that the Senate, on Wednesday, the 4th of February, rejected an amendment to Clause 60, sub-section 3 of the Electoral Amendment Bill. The proposed alteration was intended to make the electronic transmission of election results mandatory, but lawmakers declined to approve it.
According to Itodo, concerns often raised about vulnerabilities in electronic systems are not unique to Nigeria and should not be used as an excuse to avoid reform.
“What you do about those vulnerabilities is that you institute mechanisms that limit the extent of vulnerability, so you prevent any form of attack, because there is no system in the world that is insulated from penetration.
“What does it do? It enhances the transparency of the process. It also ensures it has a deterrent effect, because at the lowest and perhaps the weakest link of our entire results management process is at the collation level. That is where results are manipulated.
“And what INEC did by introducing electronic transmission, whether it’s iReV, is the fact that after voting at the polling unit, you collate the results, enter the results sheets, and then upload it on a portal defined by INEC.
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“That way it enhances accessibility, so that when it goes to the coalition centre, everyone already sees the result,” he said.
He stressed that by making results publicly available almost immediately after collation at polling units, the system limits opportunities for tampering during movement to higher collation centres.
“So let’s get that clear. But in this particular instance, what the political class seem to be scared of is the power that electronic transmission of results has.”