Ambassador-designate and political commentator, Reno Omokri, has thrown his weight behind the electronic transmission of election results but warned against the insistence on real-time transmission, describing it as unrealistic under Nigeria’s current infrastructure.
Omokri, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, said he supports reforms that promote electoral transparency but argued that critics must be practical in their expectations.
“If you want to have the electronic transmission of result, I support that. I don’t think anybody who is going to be against that is patriotic,” Omokri said.
He, however, maintained that enforcing a real-time component across all polling units in the country was not feasible, citing Nigeria’s size and uneven network coverage as major obstacles.
“The issue is these people asking for unrealistic policies of real-time electronic transmission of result,” he said.
Omokri pointed to South Africa’s recent elections as a comparable example.
He said, “What happened in South Africa is exactly what happened in 2023 in Nigeria. Election results can be transmitted electronically in Nigeria. However, there are some places where you don’t have coverage because Nigeria is a large country.”
His comments come amid ongoing controversy over the Electoral Act (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026, recently passed by the Senate.
Lawmakers came under fire after removing the phrase “real-time” from the clause on electronic transmission of results. Protesters, including civil society organisations and opposition figures, have since staged demonstrations at the National Assembly, accusing senators of attempting to weaken electoral transparency.
Although the Senate leadership clarified that electronic transmission remains part of the law, critics insist the phrase “real-time” is necessary to prevent manipulation during collation.