Nigerian lawmakers approve real-time online election results

Following major pressure from trade unions and civil society, Nigeria's Senate on Tuesday reversed its earlier decision to reject plans for the real-time electronic transmission of election results in future.

The vote last week against making the automatic and immediate uploading of results mandatory — a measure long championed by pro-reform groups as key to reducing risks of interference during manual vote collation — sparked widespread condemnation and public protests.

The lower chamber of parliament, the House of Representatives, had approved the proposal before the Senate threw it out, with some members arguing the plan would prove impractical.
Presidential elections expected a year from now

After an emergency meeting on the matter, the Senate said that members "approved the electronic transmission of election results... after the completion of all statutory procedures at the polling unit."

It said the decision was unanimous and that it would boost "public confidence" and enable "citizens to follow the electoral process more transparently."

Nigeria's next presidential election, when incumbent Bola Tinubu is likely to seek a second and final term, is scheduled for February 2027.

Nigeria's largest trade union group threatened over the weekend to try to boycott the next vote entirely unless the changes were implemented.

"Failure to add electronic transmission in real time will lead to mass action ‌before, during and ‌after the election, or total boycott of the election," NLC President Joe Ajaero said on Sunday.
Public skepticism and voter apathy high, long tradition of contested results

At the last presidential election in February 2023, turnout dipped to 27%, its lowest levels since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.

The result was challenged in court and ultimately had to go to the Supreme Court.

Almost every election in Nigerian history, barring 2015 when Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat, has faced legal challenges. Allegations of wrongdoing are commonplace albeit almost always unsuccessful before the judges.
Can the vast, violence-ridden country deliver real-time vote counts?

Over the past decade, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has introduced various technology designed to improve the integrity and transparency of election results.

However, the implementation and execution has proved extremely challenging and unsuccessful.

In 2023's vote, the new online results database was much touted but proved an unreliable platform, with only around 10% of constituencies, mostly in the larger and wealthier cities and towns, managing to deliver prompt results.

EU election observer Barry Andrews wrote after that vote that the plan to post itemized results online "were perceived as an important step to ensure the integrity and credibility of the eletions," but that "uploading the results ... did not work as expected."

Conditions next February are not likely to be much better in Africa's most populous country.

Internet connections remain patchy in rural areas. The country's police and military is struggling to contain a string of often Islamist rebel and terrorist insurgencies, as well as criminal groups and gangs, in several different states.

Delayed or extended voting has been commonplace in many of the roughly 176,000 polling stations nationwide for years for a variety of reasons, from security concerns to technical mishaps or simple overcrowding.

By Mark Hallam, DW

US to deploy 200 troops to train Nigerian forces in fight against terrorists

The United States will deploy 200 troops to Nigeria to train its armed forces in their fight against terror groups, Nigerian and US officials said on Tuesday, as Washington increases military cooperation with the West African country.

"We are getting US troops to assist in training and technical support," Major General Samaila Uba, a spokesperson for Nigeria's Defence Headquarters, told AFP.

The Wall Street Journal reported the deployment, which will supplement a small US team already in the country to aid the Nigerians with air strike targeting.

The additional troops, expected to arrive in the coming weeks, will provide "training and technical guidance," including by helping their Nigerian counterparts coordinate operations that involve air strikes and ground troops simultaneously, the US daily said.

A US Africa Command spokesperson confirmed the details of the report to AFP.

Nigeria has been under diplomatic pressure from the United States over insecurity in the country, which US President Donald Trump has characterised as "persecution" and "genocide" against Christians.

Although there are instances where Christians are specifically targeted, Muslims are also killed en masse, with Trump's senior adviser on Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos saying last year Boko Haram and Daesh "are killing more Muslims than Christians."

Abuja rejects allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria, a framing long used by the US religious right.

So do independent analysts, who point to a broader state failure to curb violence from these groups and armed gangs across swaths of sparsely governed countryside.

Despite the diplomatic pressure, Nigeria and the United States have found common ground in increasing military collaboration.

The US targeted terrorists in northwest Sokoto state with strikes in December, in a joint operation with Nigeria, officials from both countries said.

Going forward, the US military has said it will supply intelligence for Nigerian air strikes and work to expedite arms purchases.

While the 200-troop deployment represents a scaling up of that collaboration, "US troops aren't going to be involved in direct combat or operations," Uba told the Journal.

Nigeria requested the additional assistance, he added.

Africa's most populous country is battling a long-running insurgency concentrated in its northeast, while non-ideological "bandit" gangs conduct kidnappings for ransom and loot villages in the northwest.

AFP

Related story: US announces military team sent to Nigeria after recent attacks

Nigeria insecurity persists despite US military deployment

Nigeria insecurity persists despite US military deployment

CGTN examines the latest wave of violence in Nigeria alongside the limited presence of US military personnel in the country.

CGTN Africa

Nigeria slips to 85th in global internet speed rankings as peers pull ahead

Nigeria’s expanding internet access is no longer translating into better online performance, as the country slipped to 85th place globally in internet speed, underscoring growing infrastructure pressure and a widening digital gap with regional peers.

According to the latest Speedtest Global Index by US-based research firm Ookla, Nigeria’s median mobile download speed stood at 44.14 Mbps by December 2025, down seven places from the previous ranking.

The report, which assessed mobile and fixed broadband performance across the Middle East and Africa (MEA), shows that while more Nigerians are online, network quality is struggling to keep pace with demand.

Within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), only three countries made the global top-100 list: South Africa (64th), Kenya (80th), and Nigeria (85th). South Africa retained its regional lead despite dropping five places globally, posting a median mobile download speed of 65.7 Mbps, while Kenya recorded 45.37 Mbps.

The results highlight a growing contrast across the region. While Nigeria continues to face infrastructure bottlenecks, other African markets are making sharper gains through fibre expansion and network modernisation. Côte d’Ivoire, for instance, recorded the biggest improvement in SSA, climbing to 103rd globally with a median download speed of 58.17 Mbps, despite relatively low fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) coverage of between 15 percent and 19 per cent, according to Omdia.

Ookla noted that Côte d’Ivoire’s performance may be boosted by a user base concentrated on higher-speed connections, supported by competitive offerings such as Orange’s entry-level fixed broadband packages starting at 50 Mbps.

Elsewhere, Mauritania posted the largest ranking jump in SSA, rising 24 places to 106th globally after expanding its national backbone with 5,500 kilometres of fibre, with plans to add another 8,000 kilometres under its Digital Agenda 2022–2025.

Six SSA countries now rank within the global top-120, reflecting uneven but accelerating infrastructure investment across the continent.

South Africa remains unique in the region for its widespread use of wholesale-only fibre-to-the-premises networks, a model analysts say has helped improve competition and service quality.

Ookla said improvements in both fixed and mobile network performance typically result from a mix of network optimisation, architecture modernisation, technology upgrades, fibre expansion, commercial migration to higher-speed plans, quality-of-service regulation, and strategic policy support from governments and regulators.

While Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continue to dominate the MEA rankings, Nigeria’s slide signals a more urgent challenge, in that, without faster, more resilient networks, gains in internet penetration risk delivering diminishing economic returns, especially for digital services, fintech, remote work, and online education.

For Africa’s largest internet market, the message is that connecting more users is no longer enough, speed now matters just as much.

By Royal Ibeh, Business Day

Alex Iwobi and Nigeria push for a lifeline for 2026 World Cup

 

Already eliminated on paper for the 2026 World Cup, Nigeria is pushing for a second chance.

In recent hours, Alex Iwobi has broken his silence. The Fulham midfielder still holds out hope that the Super Eagles could feature at the 2026 World Cup, as all eyes turn to FIFA and the ongoing administrative dispute with DR Congo.

Speaking to Supersport, Alexander Iwobi voiced a sentiment shared by an entire nation. Despite Nigeria’s sporting elimination in the play-offs, the hope for a lifeline through administrative means remains very much alive in the Super Eagles’ locker room. "We are still waiting. I hope we can go to the 2026 World Cup. It’s a tough choice, because winning AFCON is a huge legacy, but many of my teammates have never experienced a World Cup. I can’t be selfish." he said.

The case hinges on a complaint filed by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), challenging the eligibility of several key DR Congo players (with names like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Epolo, Mario, and Axel Tuanzebe being mentioned).

Although FIFA already dismissed the initial complaint last December, the NFF continues to push for a deeper investigation.

Foot Africa