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.
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.
