Senator Natasha Calls for INEC Accountability as Tinubu Signs Electoral Amendment Bill

Summary: Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has urged INEC to ensure transparency and accountability in implementing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s signing of the law. She also called on citizens to demand oversight of election processes, funding, and technology ahead of the 2027 polls.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has called for strict accountability and transparency from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following President Bola Tinubu’s signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 into law ahead of the 2027 general elections. 

Tinubu’s signing brings major changes to Nigeria’s elections, including reforms to voter registration, party primaries, election funding, and result transmission ahead of the 2027 elections. Among the key amendments, voter registration requirements have been reduced to three documents, voters can now download their voter cards from INEC’s website, and electronic transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) has been made compulsory. However, in cases of network failure, Form EC8A will serve as the primary source for collation and declaration of results.

Reacting to the development, Senator Natasha, who represents Kogi Central Senatorial District, expressed concern over the provision in Section 60(3), which allows Form EC8A to become the primary mode of collation where electronic transmission fails.

In a statement, she urged INEC to strictly comply with the new provisions, ensure equal treatment of all political parties and candidates, deploy technology effectively for voter accreditation and result transmission, guarantee timely logistics, safeguard the integrity of the voters’ register, and promptly upload results to strengthen public trust.

The senator also called on citizens to demand transparency in the proposed N873 billion budget for the 2027 elections, scrutinise the quality and functionality of BVAS machines, and advocate for improved software systems for the BVAS and IReV platforms. She further recommended partnerships with reliable network providers to ensure nationwide coverage across Nigeria’s more than 177,000 polling units during the election period.

Senator Natasha noted that electoral laws remain subject to judicial review and stressed that citizens dissatisfied with any provision of the amended Act retain the right to challenge it in court.

Nigeria’s 2027 general elections are scheduled with the presidential and National Assembly polls on February 20, 2027, and the governorship and State Assembly elections on March 6, 2027.