Occupy National Assembly Protest Begins In Abuja

In protest over the Senate’s stance on the electronic transmission of election results, demonstrators broke through the National Assembly Complex’s entrance gate in Abuja on Monday.

Starting at the Federal Secretariat, the demonstrators marched in the direction of the National Assembly gate.

In order to demand that results be transmitted electronically as part of Nigeria’s Electoral Act change, the demonstrators had threatened to assault the National Assembly.

According to multiple accounts, the Senate rejected the continuing amendment’s requirement that electronic results be transmitted.

However, the demonstrators insist that politicians be specific by using the word “real-time electronic transmission” in the draft legislation, even though the Senate has denied any complixity and given multiple clarifications.

The Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were among the forces on the ground to preserve peace and order at the protest site, according to reports at the time this article was filed.

According to some protestors who talked to Channels Television, the protest is anticipated to occur primarily at the entrance, therefore they have no intention of entering the National Assembly’s grounds.

Remember how stakeholders, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), had threatened to organize large-scale demonstrations or call for a boycott of upcoming elections due to the Senate’s allegedly conflicting positions on the 2022 Electoral Act amendment, specifically regarding the electronic announcement of election results?

NLC President Joe Ajaero warned that the Senate’s actions could erode public trust in Nigeria’s democracy and election process in a statement released on Sunday.