Abiodun Ajiboye, the executive secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), has accused key opposition figures in the country of attempting to disenfranchise millions of Nigerians by insisting on real-time electronic transmission of election results ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Mr Ajiboye, who spoke on Arise TV, argued that making electronic transmission mandatory could create “systematic voter suppression” rather than strengthen democracy, as Nigeria’s current digital infrastructure is not robust enough to guarantee seamless nationwide transmission of results.

He said this risks excluding rural and technologically disadvantaged communities where internet connectivity remains unreliable. His remarks followed calls by erstwhile Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former Social Democratic Party presidential candidate Adewole Adebayo for real-time transmission.

“America (U.S.) does not even do real-time transmission. Go and check. We don’t even have telecom provided for some rural communities. Some rural communities don’t even have electricity.

“So, you’re trying to disenfranchise a lot of people by pushing for what is not possible. Technologically, it is not possible. Stop stampeding the Senate and National Assembly into getting into something very difficult that will put everybody in a mess at the end of the day,” Mr Ajiboye said on Monday.

His comments come amid intensifying debate over whether the National Assembly should amend the Electoral Act to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit election results electronically in real-time, a reform widely backed by opposition leaders who argue it would reduce manipulation and restore public trust in elections.

Last week, the Senate, led by Godswill Akpabio, passed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026, but refused to adopt an amendment that would have made the electronic transmission of results from polling units compulsory.

Messrs Abubakar Obi and Adebayo have repeatedly insisted that real-time transmission would enhance transparency and credibility.

Mr Abubakar had called the Senate’s action “ill-advised,” saying it represented “a grave setback for electoral reform and a calculated blow against transparency, credibility, and public trust.”

However, Mr Ajiboye maintained that INEC should retain discretion to deploy technology based on feasibility rather than being compelled by law.

“Transmitting election results electronically is a function of the manner of voting. If you vote manually and collate results, how do you then transmit electronically in real time? It’s just not possible. We can’t even afford it,” he said.

He questioned whether telecom operators have the capacity to support such a system and cited security risks, noting that INEC servers were heavily targeted during the last general elections.

“The last election we had, the INEC server was attacked over a million times,” he added, warning that overreliance on technology could expose the process to hackers and disruptions.

Mr Ajiboye said manual collation remains central to Nigeria’s electoral system, suggesting that result sheets could instead be scanned and uploaded after physical verification by party agents.

“A man is only able to do what he is capable of. We have no capability to do electronic voting or real-time transmission at this time,” he added.