The Nigerian Senate has defended its latest amendments to the Electoral Act, describing the changes as a carefully considered step taken in the best interest of the country.

In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Senate spokesperson Senator Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South) emphasized that the National Assembly approached the amendment process with thoroughness and deliberation, rejecting claims that the decision was impulsive or driven by external pressure.

“Anyone who loves Nigeria will know that what we have done today is the best for Nigeria,” Adaramodu said. He stressed that lawmaking requires painstaking effort: “We don’t do something that we just wake up just on impulse and just say something, and then you say you have made a law. You have to be very thorough. You have to be very painstaking.”

Adaramodu dismissed much of the criticism surrounding the amendments, describing some detractors as a “minor minority” who are “melodramatic” about the issue. “We don’t play to the gallery… principles of lawmaking are not just something like eating amala,” he remarked, underscoring that lawmakers base decisions on principle rather than public sentiment or theatrics.

The amendments, approved during an emergency plenary session on Tuesday, reversed the Senate’s earlier rejection of compulsory electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV). The chamber now permits electronic transmission as part of the electoral process but stopped short of mandating it in “real-time.”

To address potential technical hurdles, the Senate provided that in cases of internet or connectivity failure, the manual result sheet (Form EC8A) will remain the primary document for collation.

Adaramodu portrayed the differing views on the issue as a sign of vibrant democracy. “Like we know in Nigeria, and everywhere else where democracy is thriving — and we want democracy to thrive — there will be shades of opinions. There will be shadows of ideas, and then we have to listen to all,” he said.

The changes follow widespread criticism from opposition politicians, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders who had decried the Senate’s initial stance as a setback for electoral transparency and credibility. The reversal came amid mounting public pressure, including protests, highlighting ongoing debates over how best to balance technological innovation with practical realities such as uneven network coverage across the country.