Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has publicly challenged former Senate President David Mark over his advocacy for real-time transmission of election results, questioning both the feasibility of the proposal and the timing of the call.
In a statement shared on his X account on Friday, Omokri argued that Mark, who served as a senator for 20 years and as Senate President for eight of those years, had ample opportunity to champion such legislation while in office.
He asked why the proposal was not pursued during Mark’s tenure at the National Assembly if it was considered viable.
Omokri acknowledged that electronic voting and electronic transmission of results after the close of polls are already provided for under Nigeria’s amended Electoral Act, describing those measures as practical and worthy of support.
However, he drew a distinction between post-election electronic transmission and what he termed “real-time” transmission — the uploading of votes as they are cast.
According to him, no country currently operates a system where votes are transmitted in real time during voting.
He cited countries often referenced in such debates, including Brazil and Estonia, arguing that results in those jurisdictions are transmitted electronically only after polls have closed, with manual backups provided for in case of system failure.
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He also mentioned the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany as examples of advanced democracies that do not implement real-time transmission of votes.
Omokri further raised concerns about cybersecurity risks, pointing to global instances of cyberattacks on governments, militaries and major technology providers.
He questioned whether Nigeria’s electoral system could realistically guarantee immunity from hacking or external interference.
In his remarks, Omokri also argued that election integrity depends significantly on the presence of party agents at polling units and proper documentation of results, rather than solely on technological safeguards.
He suggested that political parties should focus on strengthening grassroots organisation and oversight mechanisms.
The comments add to the growing national conversation on electoral reforms, particularly as stakeholders continue to debate the best ways to enhance transparency, credibility and public trust in Nigeria’s electoral process.