- The Senate has summoned an emergency plenary over the Electoral Act amendment backlash
- The National Labour Congress threatens nationwide protests and possible election boycotts
- The House–Senate committee set to reconcile disputed provisions
Nigeria’s Senate has called an emergency plenary session for Tuesday, February 10, following growing public backlash over its handling of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, especially the rejection of a clause requiring real-time electronic transmission of election results.
In a statement released Sunday, February 8, the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, said Senate President Godswill Akpabio had directed lawmakers to reconvene on February 10, 2026, for a session scheduled to begin at noon.
The move comes as pressure mounts from labour unions, civil society groups and political activists, many of whom accuse the Senate of weakening electoral transparency.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned of possible nationwide protests and election boycotts, while a coalition of activists under the banner Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) announced plans for a mass demonstration in Abuja tagged “Occupy NASS.”
The controversy stems from the Senate’s passage of the amendment bill on February 4, during which lawmakers voted down Clause 60(3). The clause would have made it compulsory for presiding officers to transmit results electronically from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing portal in real time.
Instead, the Senate retained the existing discretionary wording that allows electronic transmission only after votes have been counted and announced at polling units. Critics argue that the decision weakens safeguards against result manipulation during collation.
Civil society organisations, opposition politicians and election observers swiftly condemned the move, describing it as a setback for democratic reforms introduced in the Electoral Act 2022.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives’ bipartisan Conference Committee on the bill is preparing to meet with its Senate counterpart to reconcile differences between the versions passed by both chambers.
According to the PUNCH, a member of the committee, Saidu Abdullahi, who represents Bida/Gbako/Katcha Federal Constituency in Niger State, confirmed that talks would hold this week.
“We will meet within the week and discuss,” he said.
The committee, chaired by Lagos lawmaker Adebayo Balogun, was constituted to harmonise disputed provisions before the bill returns for final passage.
The renewed agitation follows lingering public concern over alleged discrepancies between polling-unit figures and uploaded results in recent elections, which has intensified demands for clearer legal backing for electronic transmission.
In a statement Sunday, February 8, NLC President Joe Ajaero said Nigerians deserved a transparent electoral system and accused the Senate of sending mixed signals.
“Public records suggest the proposed amendment to mandate INEC to transmit results electronically in real time was not adopted, with the existing discretionary provision retained,” he said. “Subsequent explanations have only added to the confusion.”
The labour union demanded that the Senate issue an “immediate, official and unambiguous account” of the provisions passed and warned that failure to reinstate mandatory electronic transmission could trigger mass protests or election boycotts.
“Failure to add electronic transmission in real time will lead to mass action before, during and after the election, or total boycott,” the statement read.
Although Senate President Akpabio has insisted that the chamber did not reject electronic transmission outright, activist groups remain unconvinced.
The MCE, in a statement signed by its spokesperson James Ezema, accused lawmakers of choosing “opacity over transparency” and warned that the decision could undermine preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The group announced that its planned protest would proceed peacefully and urged Nigerians and the international community to speak out.
Convened by prominent activists including Ayuba Wabba, Femi Falana (SAN), Oby Ezekwesili and Pat Utomi, among others, the coalition said mandatory electronic transmission was a basic safeguard against electoral fraud and demanded its immediate reinstatement in the bill.
It also called for public accountability from lawmakers who opposed the clause and advocated adopting a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail alongside electronic transmission, citing India’s electoral model.
Separately, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere added its voice to the criticism, urging the National Assembly’s joint committee to embrace compulsory real-time electronic transmission ahead of the 2027 polls.
In a statement signed by its leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, and National Publicity Secretary Justice Faloye, Afenifere warned that rejecting such reforms would further erode public trust and jeopardise Nigeria’s democracy.
The group faulted the Senate for striking out not only mandatory electronic transmission but also provisions for downloadable electronic voter cards with QR codes earlier approved by the House of Representatives.
Afenifere argued that leaving electronic transmission optional contradicts the spirit of constitutional provisions empowering the legislature to ensure credible elections and noted that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that such transmission was not compulsory under the existing law because it was not explicitly stated.
“By refusing to codify electronic transmission as a legal requirement, the Senate has deliberately left the process vulnerable to selective non-compliance,” the group said, adding that Nigeria risked falling behind global best practices in election technology.