Fresh facts have emerged on how the Senate rejected a proposal to make real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory, ahead of the 2027 general election.

The proposal formed part of the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 903), specifically an amendment to Clause 60(3), which sought to compel presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to upload polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV, in real time.

The recommendation, which also triggered wider reforms on election timelines, penalties for electoral offences and voting technology, was voted down by the 10th Senate under the leadership of Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

At the centre of the controversy is Section 60(3) of the bill, dealing with the transmission of polling unit results. The provision was recommended by the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Senator Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South).

Sources told Vanguard that during clause-by-clause consideration of the committee’s report, the Senate initially worked on a version that retained real-time electronic transmission.

However, after hours of deliberations and as plenary dragged late into the evening, the final version passed by the Senate was altered at the last minute to expunge the provision.

This, sources said, was even though the Senate had earlier approved electronic transmission overwhelmingly during a closed session.

An ad-hoc committee, chaired by Senator Niyi Adegbonmire, APC (Ondo Central), had also endorsed it after more than one year of consultations.

The Adegbonmire committee engaged INEC, civil society organisations and stakeholders through joint sessions and zonal public hearings, where consensus was reportedly reached that electronic transmission must be explicitly legalised to avoid the legal controversies that trailed the 2023 general elections.

Page 45 of the report of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Clause 60(3) provided: “The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal in real time and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents available at the polling unit.”

A source said that when senators got to the clause, many assumed it would pass smoothly, given prior resolutions.

“That was when the unexpected happened,” the source said, adding that three ranking Southern senators allegedly intervened.

According to the source, the senators approached the Senate President and urged him to retain the provision of the 2022 Electoral Act.

Akpabio was said to have upheld the existing law, which allows electronic transmission only after votes are counted and publicly announced at polling units.

Instead of “transmission,” the word “transfer” was adopted, in line with the 2022 Act, even though no fresh debate was conducted on the floor.

The rejected amendment would have mandated real-time upload of results to IReV immediately after completion of Form EC8A.

The adopted provision states: “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.”

Senate bows to pressure, to hold emergency sitting tomorrow, instead of Feb 24

However, following the widespread criticisms that have trailed its rejection of a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the bill, which sought to make the real time electronic transmission of election results mandatory, the Senate has been forced to reconvene an emergency plenary sitting tomorrow, February 10, 2026, at 12:00 noon.

It had on Wednesday, adjourned plenary till February 24.

The new development to reconvene tomorrow was formally contained in an official notice dated February 8, 2026, signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, on the directive of the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

The notice to the senators, sighted yesterday, read: “I am directed by President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, to inform all senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that an emergency sitting of the Senate has been scheduled to hold as follows: Date: Tuesday, 10 February, 2026. Time: 12:00 Noon.

“Venue: Senate Chamber. Senators are kindly requested to note this emergency sitting date and attend. All inconveniences this will cause to senators are highly regretted.”

Although the official notice did not state the reason for the emergency session, the timing strongly suggests a connection to the intense national controversy trailing the Senate’s handling of key provisions in the Electoral Act amendment, particularly Section 60(3).

The Senate had adjourned plenary last week after the passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to allow lawmakers participate in ongoing budget defence sessions by ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, ahead of the final consideration of the ¦ 58.47 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill, scheduled for March 17.

Recall that during the clause-by-clause consideration of the Electoral bill, the Senate, presided over by Akpabio, adopted a motion moved by Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno, APC, Borno North and seconded by the Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, APC, Kano North, to reject the proposed Section 60(3).

The rejected amendment sought to make real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal mandatory. It proposed that:

“The presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IReV portal in real time, and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by candidates or polling unit agents, where available.”

Instead, the Senate retained Section 60(5) of the Electoral Act, 2022, which states.

Parliamentary sources said the Senate must reconvene to approve the votes and proceedings to validate the decisions taken.

This, they argued, would clarify whether “transfer” or “electronic transmission” was adopted by senators and enable the conference committee to function.

Without approval of the votes and proceedings, the conference committee constituted by Akpabio to harmonise the bill with the House of Representatives cannot effectively commence work.

Members of the conference committee include Senator Simon Lalong (Chairman); Senators Niyi Adegbonmire, APC, Ondo Central; Tahir Monguno, APC, Borno North; Adamu Aliero, APC, Kebbi Central; Orji Uzor Kalu, APC, Abia North; Abba Moro, PDP, Benue South; Asuquo Ekpenyong, APC, Cross River South; Aminu Iya Abbas, Adamawa; and Tokunbo Abiru, APC, Lagos East.

Beyond electronic transmission, the Senate also made sweeping changes to other provisions of the bill.

It dropped stiffer penalties for buying and selling of voter cards, which proposed fines ranging from N500,000 to N5 million and a 10-year ban from contesting elections.

The Senate reduced the period for INEC’s notice of election from 360 days to 180 days under amended Clause 28.

It also cut the timeline for political parties to submit candidates’ lists from 180 days to 90 days under Clause 29.

Under Clause 47, the Senate replaced smart card readers with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, but rejected electronically generated voter identification, retaining the Permanent Voter Card, PVC, as the sole mode of identification at polling units.

Clause 142, which sought to ease proof of non-compliance in election petitions by relying on documentary evidence, was also struck out following concerns that it could clog the courts.

Delay may not derail 2027 polls — NBA

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has expressed concern over the Senate’s delay in concluding work on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

NBA President, Mr Afam Osigwe, SAN, said while the Bar was worried about the pace of the National Assembly, the delay would not necessarily derail the 2027 general elections if INEC and stakeholders worked with the existing legal framework.

“The process itself has not really started. But if those amendments can be brought in, and they improve credibility, it will be better,” Osigwe told Vanguard.

He advised INEC to continue preparations under the subsisting law, noting that technological issues, such as result transmission, only come into play on election day.

“You can pass the best laws, and if the judicial interpretation is anything but progressive, we have still not achieved anything,” he said, citing how courts interpreted provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.

Also reacting, civil society leader, Mr Clement Nwankwo, urged INEC to immediately issue the notice for the 2027 elections under the existing Electoral Act, which requires 360 days’ notice.

“What I am saying is that INEC should use our current Electoral Act and go ahead and announce the notice for elections in 2027,” he said.

Nwankwo, Executive Director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, accused the Senate of undermining national consensus by allegedly altering the agreed version of the bill.

“The Electoral Act is not the personal property of anybody; it is a national property,” he said on Channels Television, warning that secrecy around executive sessions had resulted in what he described as a “legislative ambush.”

He disclosed that a joint committee involving the Senate, House of Representatives, INEC and judicial experts had agreed that results must be transmitted electronically in real time to IReV.

“Nigeria’s elections are among the most expensive in the world. You can’t spend billions on BVAS and then short-change Nigerians on its use,” Nwankwo said, warning that continued manipulation of legislative outcomes could erode public trust and fuel unrest.

NLC threatens mass boycott, mass action over electoral ambiguity

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has threatened mass action and a possible nationwide boycott of future elections over what it described as confusion and contradictions surrounding the Senate’s amendment of the 2022 Electoral Act, particularly on the real-time electronic transmission of election results.

Raising concerns over the credibility of the 2027 general elections, the NLC accused the Senate of undermining public trust in the electoral process and warned that failure to clearly mandate real-time electronic transmission of results could plunge the nation into another electoral crisis.

NLC in a statement by the President, Joe Ajaero, said: “NLC expresses deep concern over the confusion and contradictory narratives emerging from the Senate regarding the amendment to the 2022 Electoral Act, particularly on electronic transmission of results.

‘’This lack of clarity undermines public trust and is deeply troubling for our democracy. The Nigerian people deserve a transparent electoral process where their votes are not only counted but seen to be counted.

“We urge the Senate to provide an immediate, official and unambiguous account of its proceedings and final decisions. 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.

“This has generated nationwide apprehension, and subsequent explanations have only added to the confusion. At a critical juncture, following the 2023 elections, such legislative ambiguity risks institutionalising doubt at the heart of our electoral integrity and echoes past controversies that have caused national distress.

“Therefore, NLC demands immediate clarity and transparency. The Senate must issue a definitive statement on the exact provisions passed, clarifying the final wording and rationale.

“The National Assembly leadership must also ensure the harmonisation process produces a final bill with crystal-clear provisions. Any ambiguity in the transmission and collation of results is a disservice to our democracy.

“We call on the Senate to restore legislative credibility by ensuring its processes are transparent and its outcomes clear. The amended Act must provide an unambiguous mandate for INEC to transmit and collate results from polling units in real-time electronically. The path to the 2027 elections must be built on certainty, not confusion.

“Nigerian workers and citizens are watching closely. The NLC is working within its networks to advocate clarity and integrity. We will not stand by while the trust of Nigerians is betrayed again and the clarity of our electoral laws is compromised.

“Failure to add electronic transmission real-time will lead to mass action before, during and after the election or total boycott of the election.

“Our nation must choose the path of clarity and integrity. We need to avoid the same confusion that trailed the 2023 elections. A people united can never be defeated! Workers united can never be defeated!” (Vanguard)

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