President Bola Tinubu has signed the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) Bill into law, declaring that electoral results in Nigeria are “finalised by humans, not computers”.
The legislation was passed by the National Assembly on Tuesday after months of debate, review and revisions by both chambers. Tinubu assented to the bill during a ceremony at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday, attended by senior lawmakers.
Speaking after signing the bill, the president stressed that while technology plays a role in elections, the ultimate responsibility lies with human officials.
“No matter how good a system is, it’s managed by the people, promoted by the people, and the result is finalised by the people,” Tinubu said.
“For final results, you are not going to be talking to the computer. You are going to be talking to human beings who announce the results.”
He argued that confidence in Nigeria’s electoral system must be rebuilt on integrity rather than solely on digital tools.
Tinubu emphasised that voting in Nigeria remains fundamentally manual. Voters will continue to appear physically at polling units, thumbprint ballot papers and cast their votes. Ballots are sorted and counted manually before figures are entered into official result sheets.
“Essentially, the transmission of that manual result is what we’re looking at, and we need to avoid glitches,” he said.
The president cautioned against over-reliance on technology without addressing infrastructure gaps, particularly broadband limitations.
“How technically prepared are we today? How technically prepared will we be tomorrow?” he asked.
The amendment followed intense debate over the electronic transmission of results. The Senate initially rejected compulsory real-time electronic transmission, sparking protests at the National Assembly complex.
After reconsideration, lawmakers approved electronic transmission of results to the Independent National Electoral Commission result viewing portal, IReV. However, the law stops short of making real-time uploads mandatory.
Under the new provision, where electronic transmission fails due to network disruptions, the manually completed EC8A form will serve as the primary basis for collation and declaration of results.
Lawmakers also amended the 360-day notice requirement in Clause 28 after concerns that it could push the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections into the Ramadan period.
The Senate reconvened in emergency plenary to rescind and adjust the clause before final passage.
Tinubu described the amendment as part of broader efforts to strengthen democratic stability and national development.
“What is crucial is that you manage the process to the extent that there will be no confusion, no disenfranchisement of Nigerians,” he said.
Expressing optimism, the president added: “Nigeria will flourish. We will continue to nurture this democracy for prosperity and stability.”
