Former Bayelsa State Governor and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, has called on members of the Senate–House conference committee on the Electoral Amendment Bill to fully adopt the version passed by the House of Representatives, warning that any compromise on electronic transmission of results could erode public trust in elections.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Dickson said the House document best reflects the consensus earlier reached by lawmakers, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and other stakeholders after nearly two years of consultations and technical engagements.
His appeal comes barely 48 hours after the Senate approved electronic transmission of results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, while retaining manual collation as a fallback option where technology fails — a provision that has drawn widespread criticism.
Dickson, a member of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, said extensive groundwork had already been completed to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral framework before the Senate introduced last-minute changes.
According to him, lawmakers held multiple workshops, joint sessions with the House, meetings with INEC and consultants, as well as public hearings in Abuja and Lagos, all aimed at producing a robust legal framework for future elections.
“We collectively agreed on a framework, especially with INEC, that would guide elections going forward,” he said.
The senator disclosed that personal tragedy prevented him from participating in the final stages of deliberations, following the sudden death of Bayelsa’s deputy governor.
He noted that Tuesday’s emergency plenary marked his first appearance in the Senate since the burial.
Despite his absence, Dickson said he was alarmed to learn that while the House of Representatives passed the harmonised bill without alterations, the Senate initially removed a key clause on electronic transmission and replaced it with what he described as a weaker provision from the old law.
Civil society backlash and public outrage, he added, forced the Senate leadership to reconvene, leading to the restoration of the clause — but with a controversial proviso allowing manual results to serve as primary evidence where electronic transmission fails.
“That proviso is what Nigerians are rightly worried about,” Dickson said.
He stressed that the House version faithfully captured the agreement reached with INEC and joint committees, urging the conference committee to return to that original position.
Dickson also revealed that INEC had assured lawmakers of its readiness to transmit results electronically nationwide, insisting that once the law mandates it, the commission must provide the necessary infrastructure.
“The issue of electronic transmission is central to electoral integrity because manipulation usually happens at collation centres, not polling units.
Once results are transmitted immediately, it becomes much harder to tamper with them,” he said.
While acknowledging that the Senate version uses mandatory language, Dickson warned that the exemption clause could easily be abused, cautioning that exceptions must not become standard practice.
He called on Nigerians to remain engaged in the democratic process, urging citizens to vote, monitor polling units, and insist on compliance with electronic transmission rules.
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“The fight for credible elections is ongoing. Citizens must stay vigilant, participate actively, and demand accountability,” he said, adding that INEC should ensure its guidelines make electronic transmission the general rule.
His remarks come amid heightened scrutiny of the Electoral Amendment Bill, following protests from civil society groups and political stakeholders over the Senate’s earlier stance.
In response, Senate President Godswill Akpabio expanded the conference committee from nine to 12 members to harmonise differences between both chambers.
The committee, chaired by Simon Lalong, is expected to finalise the bill and forward it to President Bola Tinubu for assent before the end of the month.