Senate reconvenes on Electoral Act 2022 amendment

The Senate will reconvene tomorrow to consider the Electoral Act 2022 amendment Bill.

Yesterday’s notice of reconvening, issued by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, raised the hopes of critics of the Senate-passed version of the Bill that there might be a reconsideration of some contentious provisions.

The Senate retained the Electoral Act 2022 provision on the mode of transmission of results, contrary to the expectations of some civil society organisations, interest groups and opposition political parties, which had insisted that result transmission from polling units should be done in real time using technology.

The Senate ruled out “real-time” transfer of results, giving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the latitude to decide the mode of transmission.

Yesterday, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) urged the Senate to embrace “real-time” result transmission for the 2027 elections.

The Senate, last week, after passing the amendment Bill, went on recess from plenary to enable its committees to work on the 2026 Budget.

The intention is to make it possible for the National Assembly to meet the proposed March 19 passage date for the budget.

At the weekend, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said there was no going back on the Senate’s position on the transmission of results.

Odo, announcing the recall of senators for tomorrow’s session, said: “The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.”

It was gathered that the session is to enable the Senate to approve the proceedings of its session on the Bill.

This will clear the way for the harmonisation of the Bill with the version passed by the House of Representatives.

Last week, the Senate named its conference committee, headed by Senator Simon Lalong, which will work with the House of Representatives committee led by Adebayo Balogun.

Apart from the transmission of results, the harmonisation committee will also work on other areas of disagreement between the two chambers.

The report of the committee will be presented for the approval of the two chambers before a clean copy is sent to the President for assent.

The voting procedure adopted in the Electoral Act 2022 and implemented by INEC involves both manual and technological transfer of results.

It is as follows: A voter approaches the presiding officer with his Permanent Voter Card (PVC), which is screened and cleared by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) after the identification of the voter. He is also fingerprinted.

Thereafter, he gets a ballot paper, on which he thumbprints in the cubicle and drops it into the ballot box in the open.

At the close of polling, the ballot papers are counted manually after being separated along party lines. The results are then recorded on INEC Form EC8

After recording, the BVAS is used to take a photograph of the result sheet, which the agents of political parties would have signed.

The photograph is then uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal.

NLC threatens mass action

The NLC said the country risks mass action and election boycotts over the “confusion and contradictory positions” on the electronic transmission of election results.

It accused the Senate of undermining public confidence in the electoral process by failing to clearly state whether electronic transmission of results would be mandatory or not.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said in a statement that the lack of clarity surrounding the Senate’s final decision threatens electoral integrity and public trust, stressing that Nigerians deserve a transparent system where votes are not only counted but seen to be counted.

Ajaero said the path to the 2027 elections must be built on certainty, not confusion.

The statement reads: “The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) expresses deep concern over the confusion and contradictory narratives emerging from the Senate regarding the amendment to the 2022 Electoral Act, particularly on the 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.”

NBA insists on electronic transmission

Urging the Senate to uphold electronic transmission of results, the NBA said discretionary provisions could weaken transparency and public trust in the electoral process.

The call followed the adoption of a report presented by the NBA President, Mr. Afam Osigwe (SAN), during its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

In the report, Osigwe drew attention to the Senate’s recent rejection of a proposed amendment to Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Amendment Bill.

The rejected amendment sought to compel presiding officers of INEC to electronically transmit polling unit results in real time to the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal immediately after Form EC8A is signed, stamped and countersigned by party agents.

According to the NBA, the discretionary wording of the provision undermines the legal basis for transparent, real-time result transmission and leaves room for manipulation, ambiguity and post-election disputes.

It added that technology-backed transparency is no longer optional in modern democracies, urging Nigeria to align its electoral framework with global best practices.

The association urged lawmakers to demonstrate statesmanship and legislative responsibility by voting in favour of electronic transmission of election results, while reaffirming its commitment to sustained advocacy to ensure that electoral laws reflect the will of the people.