Nigeria’s telecommunications operators say the country’s networks are capable of supporting the real-time electronic transmission of election results, sharpening a debate that now turns less on technology than on law and political will.
In a joint technical assessment conducted with the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Nigerian Communications Commission, mobile coverage was found to extend to 93% of polling units nationwide, with capacity to bridge the remaining gaps. The findings, first reached in 2018 and reiterated in a 2021 position paper, suggest that the infrastructure question – long cited as a stumbling block – may have been largely resolved.
Major operators told local media that Nigeria’s networks can carry election data in real time, though the process remains predominantly paper-based. The commission’s document, Position Paper No.1/2021 on Electronic Transmission of Election Results, signed on 9 September 2021 by its then chair, Mahmood Yakubu, described electronic transmission as both “desirable and doable”.
INEC said it had “developed adequate structures and processes” to transmit results electronically and that the “technology and national infrastructure” were sufficient. Yet it stopped short of implementation in 2019, arguing that it lacked an unambiguous legal mandate under the Electoral Act as it then stood.
The earlier INEC–NCC joint technical committee, co-chaired by NCC commissioner Ubale Maska and INEC national commissioner Mustapha Lecky, concluded that mobile networks adequately covered most polling units and recommended secure configurations, including dedicated access point names and virtual private networks, to connect to INEC’s backend systems. Polling units were allocated across Airtel, Glo, 9Mobile and MTN for transmission planning.
Much of the public argument, INEC suggested, has “generated a lot of heat but thrown very little light”, fuelled by what it called misconceptions – among them the conflation of electronic transmission with internet voting. The commission emphasised that it is not contemplating online balloting, but rather the electronic collation of results already recorded at polling units.
It also dismissed claims that weaknesses in the Smart Card Reader undermine its capacity to transmit results, noting that the device is not used for transmission and is not permanently connected to any data network. Assertions that 2G networks cannot carry election data were described as “simply incorrect”, pointing out that operators were aware of such limitations when they certified coverage as adequate.
The legal terrain, however, remains contested. The Electoral Act 2026, signed on 18 February by President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election, permits the use of digital tools such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and an online results portal but does not mandate real-time electronic transmission from polling units. Physical result sheets – Form EC8A – remain the legal basis for collation where technology fails, preserving a hybrid system that critics say may slow announcements and invite disputes.
Supporters of compulsory real-time uploads argue that they would strengthen transparency and curb manipulation during collation. Critics cite logistical, cybersecurity and connectivity concerns, and question whether broadband penetration is robust enough to guarantee seamless nationwide deployment.
Gbenga Adebayo, chair of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, said the infrastructure exists. “The network is there,” he said, adding that the NCC holds verified coverage maps and performance data. Operators, he stressed, are not seeking special government support for 2027.
Satellite technology, executives argue, can close the remaining coverage gaps. Devices such as BVAS machines could be configured to transmit via satellite in remote areas without GSM connectivity. “So long as they can see the sky, they will transmit data,” one industry figure said, suggesting a tiered deployment model in which most of the country relies on terrestrial mobile networks and more remote zones use hybrid GSM–satellite interfaces.
INEC says it has already tested elements of the system through its Results Viewing portal, deploying it in governorship elections in Edo and Ondo, multiple by-elections and across thousands of polling units. Since August 2020, the commission says it has transmitted results in real time from 20 states and the federal capital territory, including conflict-affected regions such as Borno and Zamfara, after subjecting its systems to ethical hacking simulations.
When signing the amended law, Tinubu praised lawmakers for avoiding confusion or disenfranchisement and urged Nigerians to trust the process, while cautioning against glitches or hacking. INEC’s earlier paper, however, noted that its systems had passed security tests and that transmission from densely populated cities to remote islands had already been achieved.
Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for 20 February 2027, with governorship and state assembly polls to follow on 6 March. A revised timetable may yet emerge.
For now, the argument appears less about whether Nigeria can transmit its results in real time than whether it will choose to do so.
