- Dr. Usman Bugaje accused the Senate under Godswill Akpabio of undermining Nigeria’s democratic process
- He endorsed mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results to ensure transparency
- Bugaje highlighted previous legislative irregularities and called for stronger scrutiny of the Senate
Islamic scholar and political activist, Dr Usman Bugaje, has accused the Senate leadership under Senate President Godswill Akpabio of repeatedly undermining Nigeria’s democratic process, alleging a pattern of deception and poor legislative conduct.
Bugaje made the remarks on Tuesday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where he defended ongoing efforts to amend the Electoral Act to provide clarity following a recent Supreme Court ruling. He emphasised that the amendment is crucial for ensuring transparency in elections, particularly through the mandatory electronic transmission of results in real time.
“The whole idea is to do a transparent election, and the best way to is to make sure that the results are available electronically, immediately, that’s real time, so that everybody can see exactly where the votes are,” Bugaje said.
He noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had recommended mandatory real-time transmission of results, a position already adopted by the House of Representatives. He accused the Senate, however, of resisting the move, describing it as a recurring issue in legislative conduct.
“It is one thing that we really have to address after this amendment. This is not the first time that Senate is found napping or is caught cheating in terms of, you know, their basic function of law making,” Bugaje said. He cited alleged irregularities in tax legislation and budgetary processes, which he said had created confusion over multiple budgets and hampered economic planning.
Bugaje argued that such failures have significant consequences for governance, noting that businesses are unable to plan effectively due to uncertainty over which budget will be implemented. He described the Senate leadership as “the biggest problem you know of this country” and called for greater scrutiny of its actions.
“So we’ll have to take that up after we have gone through the amendment,” he said. “But I think there is a groundswell of opinion across the country, even with their fellow legislators in the House, that this mandatory transmission in real time is what everybody wants, and that’s what should actually be done. And Nigerians are not ready for anything less.”
Bugaje’s comments highlight growing public pressure for electoral reforms that guarantee transparency and accountability, with civil society groups, political actors, and concerned citizens pushing for robust measures to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s elections. The call for real-time electronic transmission of results has emerged as a key demand in ongoing debates over the Electoral Act amendment.