Former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Monday led members of the Obedient Movement and several civil society organisations to the National Assembly, Abuja, demanding the restoration of real-time electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

The protesters urged senators not to pass the bill without reinstating provisions mandating the real-time upload of polling unit results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing (IReV) portal. They vowed to continue the protest when the Senate reconvenes.

The demonstration followed the Senate’s passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill, 2026, which retained electronic transmission but removed the phrase “real-time” from key clauses—an omission critics say weakens safeguards against electoral manipulation.

The protesters marched from the Federal Secretariat to the National Assembly with placards reading “Our votes must count” and “Defend democracy,” but were stopped at the main gate by security operatives.

Speaking to journalists, Obi warned that weakening electoral safeguards threatens Nigeria’s democracy and development.

“We must dismantle this criminality and ensure elections are transparent from beginning to finish,” he said, recalling challenges recorded during the 2023 presidential election.

Obedient Movement National Coordinator, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, said the protest would continue until lawmakers explicitly restore the real-time transmission clause, warning that manual interference during result collation has historically undermined elections.

Lagos-based lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Olisa Agbakoba, said restoring the clause would close legal loopholes, noting that despite INEC’s use of IReV in 2023, the Supreme Court ruled it lacked statutory backing.

Founder of The Albino Foundation, Dr. Jake Epelle, urged the Senate to adopt the House of Representatives’ version mandating electronic transmission and conclude the amendment process swiftly to allow INEC prepare for the 2027 elections.

Meanwhile, the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) warned that failure to mandate electronic transmission could undermine election credibility and fuel instability ahead of 2027, insisting that democracy cannot survive where votes are manipulated.