Most Nigerian lawmakers would lose seats under transparent elections—Sowore

Human rights activist and politician Omoyele Sowore has asserted that a majority of elected officials in Nigeria would be voted out if elections were conducted transparently.

Sowore’s remarks came on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, in reaction to the Senate’s recent amendment of the Electoral Act.

The amendment allows for electronic transmission of results but retains manual collation in areas with poor internet connectivity, a move Sowore said is deliberately designed to protect entrenched electoral malpractice.

“This excuse that there is no network in some states is just another balloon air on the part of these guys. They don’t want transparent elections because if elections are transparent, 90 per cent of them will not make it to the National Assembly and, of course, the presidency and other elected positions, they know that,” Sowore said.

He described the manual collation clause as “clever by half,” arguing that it preserves the “hardcoded way of reporting elections,” which he claims has eroded public trust in Nigeria’s electoral system.

Sowore also criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) IREV system as outdated, urging the adoption of a fully electronic voting model similar to India, which accommodates nearly 900 million voters.

“We have only 90 million here; we should be able to go for electronic voting,” he said, adding that Nigerians already conduct secure digital transactions daily and should similarly be able to vote electronically from home.

The activist emphasized that genuine electoral reforms are essential to restore credibility and public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process, highlighting the urgent need for transparency, modernization, and accountability in upcoming elections.