Electoral Act Debate: APGA chair defends law, says critics misunderstand intent

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sly Ezeokenwa, has defended provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, arguing that many critics of the law and the conduct of elections misunderstand how the electoral process works.

Speaking during a media interaction on Thursday in Lagos, Ezeokenwa said the ongoing debate around election procedures—especially electronic transmission of results—often ignores what the law actually provides.

He emphasised that legislation such as the Electoral Act is the product of a collective democratic process and should not be attributed to any single political party.

“If the National Assembly enacts a law, you don’t need to say ‘I opposed it’ or ‘I supported it.’

“Like we always say in democracy, the minority will have their say, but the majority will have their way.

“It is not an act of APC members of the National Assembly; it is an act of the National Assembly.

“Once the president assents to it, it becomes a law binding on all citizens,” Ezeokenwa said.

The APGA chairman also addressed the controversy surrounding electronic transmission of results during the 2023 presidential election, saying public discourse on the issue has often been driven by misconceptions.

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“Most of the people who talked about transmission of results know little or nothing about the electoral process,” he said.

He explained that the electronic transmission system introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was designed mainly to promote transparency and public confidence in elections.

“The presiding officer scans the result sheet and uploads it to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

“The essence is simply for Nigerians anywhere to log onto the portal and view results in real time,” he said.

According to him, the Electoral Act still recognises the physical collation of results as the legally binding procedure, stressing that uploaded images on the viewing portal are intended primarily for transparency rather than official collation.

“People confuse transmission of results to the portal with collation; they are different things.

“Electronic transmission simply means scanning the result and sending it to the viewing portal.

“The law recognises that results are physically delivered by the presiding officer to the collation officer,” he said.

Ezeokenwa maintained that disputes over election outcomes must be supported by documentary evidence, particularly alternative result sheets from polling units.

“If you want to determine whether an election was rigged, the primary document is the certified true copy of the result.

“Till date, nobody has produced an alternative result sheet; the only thing I hear is that INEC breached its guideline.

“If they breached their guideline, have you brought an alternative result to show the declared results are different?” he queried.

Beyond the legal debate, the APGA leader also used the occasion to outline the party’s philosophy on governance and political participation.

According to him, APGA believes politics should not become a lifelong occupation and encourages its members to remain professionally engaged outside government.

“In APGA, we try to develop a model of politics that recognises that politics is not a business.

“People should build careers, and if you are a party officer, you should maintain meaningful professional engagement.

“If you are not productively engaged, that is what leads to vices such as trading nomination platforms for money.

“Even as national chairman, I still go to court because election petitions are part of my professional practice,” Ezeokenwa said.

He added that improving public understanding of the Electoral Act and the electoral process would be critical in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy ahead of future elections, including the 2027 presidential poll.

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