The Senate will hold an emergency plenary session on Tuesday (today) amid mounting controversy over amendments to the Electoral Act, particularly provisions relating to the electronic transmission of election results.

The emergency sitting was announced in a notice issued on Sunday by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, following the directive of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

“I am directed by His Excellency, the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, GCON, to inform all Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that an Emergency Sitting of the Senate has been scheduled to hold as follows: Date: Tuesday, 10th February, 2026. Time: 12:00 noon. Venue: Senate Chamber,” the notice read.

Although no official reason was given for the emergency sitting, the development comes amid widespread public debate and protests following the Senate’s passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill 2026 through a third reading last week.

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The controversy centres on Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the bill, which relates to the electronic transmission of election results.

The Senate declined to approve a proposed amendment that would have made real-time electronic transmission of results mandatory, instead retaining the existing provision in the 2022 Electoral Act.

The retained clause states that “the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot, in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”

The rejected amendment would have required presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit polling unit results to the IREV portal in real time after the relevant result forms had been duly signed and stamped.

The Senate also rejected proposals seeking to introduce a 10-year ban on vote-buyers, opting instead to retain existing penalties of fines and jail terms.

Protest

Public discontent over the Senate’s decision spilled onto the streets on Monday, as members of civil society groups and opposition political parties converged on the entrance of the National Assembly in Abuja under the banner of the “Occupy National Assembly” protest.

The demonstration, which was directed against the Senate’s position on electronic transmission of results, attracted a heavy security presence, with personnel deployed from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The entrance to the National Assembly was barricaded by security operatives, but some of the protesters told Channels Television that they did not intend to force entry into the National Assembly, noting that the demonstration was planned to take place solely at the gate.

The protesters marched from the Federal Secretariat towards the National Assembly complex.

Meanwhile, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, who is now a member of the ADC, also joined the protest.

Obi said the Senate must act to prevent a recurrence of the technical failures reported by INEC during the 2023 general elections.

According to him, lawmakers should make real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory to strengthen the credibility of the electoral process.

Clarification 

In response to the backlash, Senate President Godswill Akpabio clarified that the Senate did not reject electronic transmission of election results but merely retained the provision as contained in the 2022 Electoral Act.

Speaking at a book launch over the weekend, Akpabio explained that the phrase “real time” was removed to avoid potential legal complications arising from network failures.

“All we said during the discussion was that we should remove the word ‘real-time’ because if you say real-time, then there is a network or grid failure, and the network is not working. When you go to court, somebody will say it ought to have been real-time. That was all we said,” he said.

Akpabio added that the decision was intended to give INEC the flexibility to determine the most appropriate method of transmitting results, taking into account technological and security challenges.

‘Allow INEC decide’

Former Senate President David Mark responded to Akpabio in on the issue, stating that the National Assembly should allow INEC to decide whether or not to transmit election results electronically.

Despite the criticism, some senators have defended the bill, insisting that it enjoyed overwhelming support in the Red Chamber.

“Over 85 per cent of senators agreed to electronic transmission. It was common ground. Even the ad hoc committee of the Senate agreed to it,” the Senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, told Channels Television.

Umeh said the only change agreed during the Senate’s executive session was the removal of the phrase “in real time”, attributing the decision to concerns about network coverage in some parts of the country.

“It was only ‘real time’ that was expunged because of network issues. Transmission itself was never in dispute,” he said.

According to him, confusion arose during plenary when a motion was reportedly introduced to replace the word “transmission” with “transfer” without debate.

“There was no debate on it. If debate had been allowed, it would have taken us back to the executive session where the issue had already been exhaustively discussed and resolved,” Umeh added.

You can watch the Senate proceedings today on all our platforms. 

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