Due to the controversies surrounding the Senate’s stance on the electronic transmission of election results, protesters stormed the National Assembly Complex’s entrance gate in Abuja on Monday.
From the Federal Secretariat, the demonstrators started their march in the direction of the National Assembly gate.
In order to force the mandatory electronic transmission of results as part of Nigeria’s Electoral Act change, the demonstrators had threatened to assault the National Assembly.
This comes after multiple reports that the Senate had rejected the continuing amendment’s need for the mandatory reporting of electronic results.
The demonstrators insist that lawmakers be clear by using the term “real-time electronic transmission” in the draft legislation, despite the Senate’s multiple clarifications and denials of any complixity.
There was reportedly a significant security presence at the protest site at the time this story was filed, with members of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on the ground to uphold law and order.
Since the demonstration is anticipated to occur primarily at the entrance, some of the demonstrators who spoke to Channels Television said that they have no intention of entering the National Assembly’s grounds.
Remember that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other stakeholders had threatened to organize large-scale demonstrations or call for a boycott of upcoming elections due to the Senate’s allegedly conflicting positions on the 2022 Electoral Act amendment, specifically regarding the electronic transmission of election results.
NLC President Joe Ajaero stated in a statement released on Sunday that the Senate’s actions run the risk of eroding public trust in Nigeria’s democracy and election process.
