Datti tackles Lawan for trying to rewrite electoral act

The vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Yusuf Ahmed Baba Datti has challenged the President of the Senate Ahmed Lawan to stop trying to rewrite the electoral act to justify the controversy of non transmission of polling units results in the just concluded 2023 presidential election.

The Senate President Ahmad Lawan at plenary on Wednesday explained that in the electoral act they passed, there was nothing like electronics transmission.

According to him, Electronics transmission is when votes are transmitted to the server.
“What we have passed I read through it when it was a bill several times, is to transfer after all the paper work that we normally do are done. 
“The agents and everybody there including security will have the papers. INEC will snap or scan the result sheet and transfer and that is what is captured with BVAS as the results.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday against the backdrop that the senate President had tried to clear the air on electronics transmission of results on Wednesday, at plenary, Datti said,
“This gentleman as far as we are concerned contested Presidency and now he is an elected senator returned by the Supreme Court yet the electoral act says you can not contest two offices in the same election circle.
“It is on record he contested for the presidency. Supreme Court now says he is senatorial candidate and then he sits as Senate President to give us this kind of opinion.
“It is very very difficult for me to say it but I have to say it. This irresponsible person must never be listened to.”

“Paragraph 38 of INEC Manual 2022 made pursuant to the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and section 149 of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that: On completion of all the Polling Unit voting and results procedures, the Presiding Officer shall:

“Electronically transmit or transfer the result of the Polling Unit, direct to the collation system as prescribed by the Commission.

“Use the BVAS to upload a scanned copy of the EC8A to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), as prescribed by the Commission.

“Take the BVAS and the original copy of each of the forms in tamper evident envelope to the Registration Area/Ward Collation Officer, in the company of Security Agents. The Polling Agents may accompany the Presiding Officer to the RA/Ward Collation Centre.

“The word used in paragraph 38 of the manual made pursuant to the Electoral Act 2022 is shall. It is mandatory and compulsory. INEC has no option.

Commentators said the failure to upload results and follow the procedures set out in paragraph 38 of the manual made pursuant to the Electoral Act 2022, is a fundamental breach that has the potential of rendering the election results that did not follow those procedures null and void.