The Senator representing Ekiti State District, Opeyemi Bamidele, has clarified the rationale behind the removal of the “real time” requirement from the 2026 Electoral Bill. The explanation was issued through his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs on Sunday.
Bamidele noted that the Senate had initially rejected Clause 60(3) of the bill, which required presiding officers to “electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in real time.” While electronic transmission of results was retained, the “real time” element was omitted.
He described the original clause as “an initiative that any legislature or parliament globally would ordinarily have embraced,” but emphasised that infrastructural realities in Nigeria necessitated caution. Drawing on data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, Bamidele said broadband coverage in 2025 stood at 70 percent, with internet penetration at 44.53 percent. He highlighted Nigeria’s global rankings in the Speedtest Global Index: 85th in mobile network reliability (44.14 Mbps) and 129th in fixed broadband reliability (33.32 Mbps), far below countries like the UAE, Qatar, and Singapore.
The senator also pointed to power infrastructure challenges, noting that roughly 85 million Nigerians—around 43 percent of the population—lack access to grid electricity. While national generation capacity hovers between 12,000 and 13,500 megawatts, distribution limits supply to only about 4,500 megawatts. Bamidele expressed confidence that the Electricity Act, 2025 would significantly improve the sector this year.
He warned that enforcing real-time transmission under current conditions could lead to instability, stating, “The data speak directly to the stark realities of our federation, not emotion or sentiment. As representatives of the people, we cannot enact laws based purely on public emotion or sentiment.”
Bamidele concluded that removing “real time” from Clause 60(3) ensures that the electoral framework remains practical while still addressing public concerns about transparency.