Paul Ibe, spokesperson to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the leadership of the Senate over what he described as a deliberate attempt to weaken Nigeria’s electoral process.
Speaking on Sunday, the 8th of February, 2026, Ibe accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau of engaging in sharp practices by attempting to substitute “electronic transmission” of election results with “electronic transfer,” a move he said Nigerians clearly understand and reject.
He insisted that citizens would not be cowed into accepting actions that undermine their democratic rights, stressing that public awareness would frustrate any such attempt.
In a post shared on X, Ibe wrote: “Nigerians won’t be intimidated and have their democratic rights mortgaged by a spineless Senate.
“Nigerians know the wuru wuru that Akpabio, Monguno and Barau did in seeking to replace “electronic transmission” with “electronic transfer.” It will not stand.”
His comments followed the Senate’s passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill 2026, which was approved last week after scaling the third reading stage.
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However, during deliberations on the bill, the upper legislative chamber declined to approve a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3. The amendment sought to make the electronic transmission of election results compulsory.
If adopted, the provision would have mandated presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit polling unit results electronically to the IREV portal in real time, after the relevant Form EC&A had been duly signed, stamped, and countersigned by party agents.
The decision has since sparked reactions from political actors and civil society groups, with concerns that it could affect transparency in future elections.