Former Abia State governor and Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has defended his position on electronic transmission of election results, insisting that his stance is firmly in the best interest of Nigerians.
Kalu dismissed claims that he opposed real-time electronic transmission, clarifying that there had been a misunderstanding about the distinction between voting and transmission of results.
“What do you mean by real-time? We never discussed electronic voting; we talked about transmission. Voting is always manual. Transmission happens as we finish the job,” he said.
The senator explained that while voting remains a manual process, the transmission of results can still be done electronically after collation, stressing that critics had misrepresented his comments.
Addressing a trending video in which he appeared to question electronic transmission due to poor network coverage, Kalu said the clip was taken out of context and dated back six years.
“Regarding the ‘no network’ comment—I said that six years ago. Some hoodlums on social media took that and claimed I wouldn’t vote for electronic transmission. That is not true. As a Christian, I can tell you 95 per cent of senators support electronic transmission,” he said.
Kalu further noted that network infrastructure in his area has significantly improved since his earlier remarks.
“Back then, I said there was no network even in my village. Since then, the MD of MTN and my friend at Globacom (Mike Adenuga) have installed masts in front of my house. There is no more excuse,” he added.
He maintained that the Senate remains largely supportive of electronic transmission of election results, describing it as a step forward in strengthening Nigeria’s electoral process.
