Executive Director of the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa, Ezenwa Nwagwu, has stressed that electronic transmission of election results alone is insufficient to guarantee credible elections in Nigeria.

Nwagwu made the remarks on Monday while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where he weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding electoral reforms.

According to him, the recent public agitation over amendments to the Electoral Act is a positive development, as it reflects growing citizen engagement with governance and lawmaking.

“My quick sense is that the current agitation we have seen around the Electoral Act is positive,” Nwagwu said. “It shows that more citizens are asking questions about governance and the activities of those who govern us, which ultimately expands the democratic space.”

However, he argued that focusing solely on electronic transmission of results does not go far enough.

“Electronic transmission of results is important, but it is not far-reaching. The Electoral Act should provide for both electronic transmission and electronic collation of results,” he said.

Nwagwu explained that the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) may not be adequately equipped to automatically convert result images transmitted in real time into numerical data.

As a result, he called for the full digitisation of the collation process, noting that this would help block loopholes and reduce the risk of electoral malpractice.