•As Akpabio, conference committee members, and others come under pressure
•NLC threatens mass action against senate
•We won’t take anything less than real-time transmission – Abaribe
Amid the public outcry trailing the rejection of mandatory e-transmission of election results from polling units, the Senate has summoned an emergency session for Tuesday, February 10, ostensibly to further deliberate on the matter.
In a terse statement released on Sunday, the Clerk of the Senate, Dr. Emmanuel Odo, announced that the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, had summoned the session to be held on Tuesday (tomorrow).
“The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026,” Odo announced.
The Senate had adjourned plenary for two weeks on Wednesday, last week, to allow senators to attend to the defence of the 2026 budget estimates by Ministries, Departments,s and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.
While passing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026 on Wednesday last week, the Senate had removed the mandatory electronic transmission (real-time) of election results from polling units by electoral officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as contained in Clause 60 (3) of the bill.
The action of the Senate meant a retention of the provision contained in the 2022 Electoral Act, which only recognises the “transfer” of election results in a manner prescribed by INEC.
The decision was immediately met with outrage, as Nigerians across the board, including civil society groups, political parties, and notable politicians, decried the development, accusing the Senate of attempting to draw back democratic gains.
It was gathered that many senators have come under intense pressure to right the wrong in the voting on the Senate floor last Wednesday. Findings by the Nigerian Tribune indicated that pressure had mounted from different quarters, especially since the Votes and Proceedings of Wednesday’s sitting were yet to be passed.
Sources close to the Senate told the Nigerian Tribune that lawmakers across board are pushing for a reversal of the ruling of the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on the important clause of the Electoral bill.
According to multiple sources, senators from across the geopolitical zones are insisting that the Senate President must unveil the votes and proceedings of Wednesday,y February 4, so that it can be ratified.
“We are even asking what basis the Senate president set up the harmonisation committee, when the votes and proceedings have not been ratified,” a lawmaker said, adding that the conference committee set up by the Senate president was a nullity.
“He (the Senate president) must recall what we passed as contained in the votes and proceedings,” another lawmaker said, adding that the lawmakers would insist on electronic voting on the cause, where each lawmaker would answer his or her father’s name.
“The majority of the lawmakers are pushing for the use of electronic voting on the Senate floor when the chamber reconvenes. That would ensure that each lawmaker stands to defend his name and the stance of his constituency on the all-important issue,” another Senator from North Central told the newspaper on Sunday.
However, a leader of the Minority Caucus in the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said in a chat that the lawmakers are demanding the passage of real-time electronic transmission of votes. “Our colleagues have said that we will not accept anything less than electronic transmission of votes from the polling units. That is what Nigerians want, and that is what is expected of the Senate. As representatives of the people, we have to account to them. We are not here by our own powers,” Abaribe said.
Another senator, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune, said of the emergency plenary: “There is nothing else urgent, to my understanding, if not the electoral bill.
“There is a conference committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives that is about to sit, but the legitimacy of the Senate’s committee is being called to question because the chamber did not ratify the votes and proceedings before proceeding on adjournment to consider the 2026 budget,” another Senator said.
The reconvening is to pass the votes and proceedings”, one legislative source, told the newspaper in Abuja on Sunday.
Some senators, led by Enyinnaya Abaribe, who represents Abia South, apparently taken unawares when the amendment was made, were still arguing as of Thursday, last week, that what was passed included electronic transmission of results.
But, on Saturday, Akpabio himself eventually confirmed that the Senate removed mandatory, real-time transmission of results from the bill.
Akpabio said the Senate decided because it believed “technology must save and not endanger democracy.”
Akpabio spoke in Abuja at the unveiling of a book, “The Burden of Legislators in Nigeria”, written by Senator Effiong Bob.
“All we said is remove the word ‘real-time’ to allow INEC decide the mode of transmission. If you make it mandatory and there is a failure of the system, there will be a serious problem,” Akpabio told the gathering, further confirming that the bill, as passed, excluded real-time electronic transmission of results.
He gave another example: “Real-time means that if there are nine states where there is no network, it means elections will not take place there?
“Or any part of the country where there is a grid breakdown, it means there will be no election?”
The Senate President, while reacting to the outrage that trailed the Senate’s action, said the legislature would not be “intimidated” into passing a faulty law, just so as to please opposition political parties, civil society groups, and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
Akpabio criticised NGOs for holding onto the view that, because they organised retreats for lawmakers, where ideas were exchanged on the electoral bill, the Senate must agree with their position, even if it didn’t sit well with the interests of all segments of the country as a unit.
He added, “Why are people setting up panels on television stations and abusing senators? I leave them to God…
“We will not be intimidated but do what is right for Nigeria and not what one NGO says. Retreat is not law-making.
“Why do you think that the paper you agreed to in Lagos must be what we must approve?”
He, however, agreed that the bill could still be looked at before the votes and proceedings were passed.
Sources further informed Nigerian Tribune that the decision to summon the emergency session might not be unconnected with the ongoing mobilisation of groups of protesters to occupy the National Assembly, beginning from this week.
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The mobilisers had gone as far as sharing the phone numbers of key members of the Senate’s and House of Representatives’ conference committee, asking them to keep calling and messaging them to reverse the decision.
One of the messages read: “As We #OccupyNASS2026. Here is a list and Phone numbers of the Senate and House Committee members on the Electoral Bill Harmonization who are meeting next week.
“NIGERIANS, CALL YOUR LAWMAKERS, MESSAGE THEM, AND SAY HELLO TO THEM.
“The 10th National Assembly has decided to wage a War against Democracy and, by extension, our Lives. We Must Wake up and say ENOUGH.
“Mandatory Real-Time Transmission or Results or Nothing.”
NLC threatens mass action against the Senate
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a warning to the Senate, demanding the immediate inclusion of mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act amendment or risk “mass action before, during, and after the election or total boycott of the election,” declaring that “electoral integrity is at stake.”
In a statement tagged “The Senate Must Come CLEAN Now: Electoral Integrity at Stake,” signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC said it was expressing “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,” warning that “this lack of clarity undermines public trust and is deeply troubling for our democracy.”
The labour centre stressed that “the Nigerian people deserve a transparent electoral process where their votes are not only counted but seen to be counted,” insisting that the Senate must “provide an immediate, official, and unambiguous account of its proceedings and final decisions.”
According to the NLC, “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,” a development it said has “generated nationwide apprehension,” noting that “subsequent explanations have only added to the confusion.”
Placing the controversy within Nigeria’s recent electoral history, the Congress warned that “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.”
The NLC therefore demanded “immediate clarity and transparency,” insisting that “the Senate must issue a definitive statement on the exact provisions passed, clarifying the final wording and rationale,” while adding that “the National Assembly leadership must also ensure the harmonisation process produces a final bill with crystal-clear provisions,” stressing that “any ambiguity in the transmission and collation of results is a disservice to our democracy.”
Calling for a restoration of confidence in the legislature, the statement said, “We call on the Senate to restore legislative credibility by ensuring its processes are transparent and its outcomes clear,” adding that “the amended Act must provide an unambiguous mandate for INEC to electronically transmit and collate results from polling units in real-time.”
Looking ahead to the next general election, the Congress declared that “the path to the 2027 elections must be built on certainty, not confusion,” warning lawmakers that “Nigerian workers and citizens are watching closely.”
The NLC said it was already mobilising, noting that “the NLC is working within its networks to advocate for clarity and integrity,” and issuing a blunt caution: “We will not stand by while the trusts of Nigerians are betrayed again and the clarity of our electoral laws compromised.”
In one of its strongest threats yet on electoral reform, the labour centre warned that “failure to add electronic transmission real-time will lead to mass action before, during and after the election or total boycott of the election,” adding that “our nation must choose the path of clarity and integrity.”
Drawing parallels with recent legislative controversies, the NLC cautioned that “we need to avoid the same confusion that trailed the new Tax Acts,” insisting that “the time for honest, people-focused legislation is now.”
Human Rights Lawyers demand statutory backing for iREV, warn of democratic backslide
Human rights lawyers said on Sunday that the National Assembly must prevent a democratic backslide in the country by providing statutory backing for INEC’s result viewing portal, iREV. The lawyers criticized the proposed amendment to section 60(3) of the Electoral Act amendment bill in the Senate, declaring it a setback to democratic consolidation.
Prominent human rights lawyer Chief Malachy Ugwunmadu, who expressed these views in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, said that the lawmakers needed to provide clarity on an issue so central to public confidence in elections.
Nigerian voters expect prompt electronic transmission of results from polling units,” Ugwunmadu said, adding that the selective deployment of electronic systems in the 2023 elections was troubling.
Another rights lawyer, Mr. Ige Asemudara, also criticised the Senate for failing to adopt real-time transmission of results, adding that the decision was influenced by political self-interest. “The law envisages transmission of results, but the ambiguity surrounding it has made manipulation possible. It must now be made mandatory,” he said.
SDP presidential candidate, Adebayo, blasts Senate, warns of resistance
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has condemned the Senate’s decision to reject real-time electronic transmission of results, calling it a betrayal of the will of the people.
He dismissed comments by the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, on the matter, describing comments attributed to the Senate president as highly condemnable. “Every stage of the legislative process attracts scrutiny,” he said, adding that “the provision of electronic transmission was already there. Once you show the intention not to listen to the aspirations of the people, Nigerians have a right to react,” he said.
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He also said that the nation needed real-time transmission of results years ago, but that it was far more mandatory now.
He accused the Senate of acting illegally by seeking to remove the electronic transmission of election results.
[ NIGERIAN TRIBUNE]
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