In Abuja, Chuks Okocha, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Sunday Aborisade, and Folalumi Alaran
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has called an emergency session for tomorrow, Tuesday, February 10, in an attempt to expedite legislative action on the contentious Electoral Act Amendments Bill, in response to the criticism that followed the recent change to the Act.
That came as well-known Nigerians blasted the Senate for allegedly rejecting the electronic transfer of results. Former Senate President David Mark, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Professor Pat Utomi, Comrades Ayuba Wabba, Usman Bugaje, and Bilikisu Magoro, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, Comrade Shehu Sanni, Comrade Ene Obi, and Olawale Okunniyi were among them.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) also urged the Senate to make sure that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was given a clear mandate in the updated Electoral Act to electronically transmit and compile polling station results in real-time.
The Senate Clerk, Emmanuel Odo, issued a statement yesterday instructing all senators to meet again for the special session that will start at midday.
Although the official notification did not specify the reason for the abrupt recall, it was discovered that the emergency plenary was intended to approve the Senate’s most recent sitting’s votes and proceedings.
Allowing the conference committee on Electoral Act modifications to start working is a necessary procedural step.
The development was confirmed by a ranking senator, who was also a principal officer, who stated that the presiding officer had already sent a circular to parliamentarians.
“We have been formally asked to reconvene on Tuesday to approve the Votes and Proceedings of our last legislative sitting,” the senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated.
“This will allow the conference committee to start working on the Electoral Act Amendments Bill.”
In light of the growing political tension around restrictions on the electronic transmission of election results, the senator also made a suggestion that the emergency session might start behind closed doors.
Before the day’s major business, there will probably be an executive session. He continued, “There is already a great deal of strain both inside and outside the National Assembly over the question of electronic results transmission.
The abrupt recall was the result of intensive public scrutiny and growing criticism from election observers, civil society organizations, and opposition parties who said the National Assembly was trying to weaken important measures in preparation for the general election in 2027.
Currently on a two-week break, the Senate and House of Representatives are set to meet with ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to discuss how to implement the 2026 budget.
The decision to break up the retreat, however, highlights how urgently the leadership of the upper chamber wants to settle any unresolved legislative issues regarding the Electoral Act, the law that will determine the integrity, credibility, and conduct of Nigeria’s future elections.
The emergency session on Tuesday could be crucial, according to political observers, as it could decide the ultimate course of electoral reforms and establish the tone for the upcoming round of talks between the National Assembly, the executive branch, and the Nigerian people, particularly with regard to the electronic transmission of election results.
Kicks by Mark, Bugaje, Utomi, Falana, Wabba, Ezekwesili, Magori, Sanni, and Others
Prominent Nigerians criticized the Senate yesterday for allegedly rejecting the electronic transmission of results in advance of the general election in 2027.
Senator David Mark, the former president of the Senate and the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said that the ADC had a clear and uncompromising stance on the issue.
Mark presided over the discussion at the public presentation of “The Burden of Legislators in Nigeria,” which took place at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja.
In his remarks, Akpabio emphasized that the Senate has not yet finished working on the Electoral Act modification and encouraged ADC and other opponents of the amendment process to not rush the process.
He claimed that requests for the electronic broadcast of election results in real time did not account for Nigeria’s infrastructure issues, pointing out that many rural villages lacked internet connectivity and energy.
He claims that permitting such a clause in the legislation may have a detrimental impact on the results of elections.
Mark responded by saying that the senate president was unable to speak for the ADC and that the party’s position, as well as that of many Nigerians, is simple.
There was no need for long explanations or arguments, Mark said, emphasizing that the only thing ADC requested was that the National Assembly approve the amendment that would allow results to be transmitted in real time and let the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) assess its viability.
Mark asserted that neither INEC nor Nigerians are protesting about real-time transmission, saying that the National Assembly should enact legislation and allow INEC to voice concerns if there are issues. Instead, he claimed, the commission and Nigerians in general were calling for increased election integrity and openness.
He insisted that election regulations should be created to preserve the integrity of the vote, not to preemptively restrict it, and claimed that bringing up infrastructure justifications during the legislative stage simply served to erode public trust in the reform process.
The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE), a recently formed coalition of prominent Nigerian political activists, also opposed the National Assembly’s decision to do away with the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026’s requirement for electronic transmission of election results.
The group, which was called together by prominent activists such as Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Dr. Usman Bugaje, Barrister Femi Falana, SAN, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Professor Pat Utomi, Dr. Bilikisu Magoro, Amb Nkoyo Toyo, Comrade Shehu Sanni, Comrade Ene Obi, and Olawale Okunniyi, among others, decided not to be bound by any political party. They claimed that MCE belonged to Nigerians, whose votes had been stolen and manipulated since 1999.
The group said, “By this medium, we are calling on our teaming partners and allies not to accept any attempt to roll back the planned Occupy NASS mass protest but to mobilize and proceed peacefully on a mass civic action to defend the popular yearnings of Nigerians in resisting any attempt to return Nigeria to the dark days of manual manipulation and backroom results arising from the distortions occasioned by glitches and interferences with the will of the electorate.”
They said that the parliamentarians’ actions constituted a clear attack by the National Assembly on Nigerians’ freedom to select their own leaders.
The group claimed the National Assembly had chosen opacity over openness, manipulation over credibility, and elite conspiracy over the people’s sovereign choice by rejecting the required broadcast of election results from the polling places and other crucial provisions.
The organization claimed in a statement issued by Comrade James Ezema that “this is not lawmaking—it is deliberate democratic sabotage against the aspiration of our people as mandatory electronic transmission of results is not controversial.”
It is a bare minimum of protection against ballot rewriting, post-election fraud, and result manipulating. Any legislature that prevents it is blatantly supporting a system that depends on rigged elections, stolen mandates, and electoral corruption.
According to MCE, the only legitimate reason to oppose mandatory transmission is the fear of the electorate’s actual votes and mandate.
“The status quo, where results are susceptible to manipulation between polling stations and collation centers, will remain and be exploited in 2027,” the organization declared.If we don’t give Nigerians the transparency they want, apathy will increase and people will lose faith in elections, opting to cast their ballots in other ways.In addition to encouraging impunity and electoral fraud, the absence of transparent election results has made it possible for the courts to become an executive branch appendage and mandate-buying instrument, rather than functioning independently to uphold the rule of law.
In Nigeria, where impunity and oppression are the norm, it stated, “This anti-democratic action of the lawmakers shows an unwillingness to submit themselves to transparent competition in a desperate bid to be beneficiaries of the corrupt systems enthroned since 1999.”Since technological transparency reveals the Nigerian political elite’s dubious and corrupt practices during elections, this ruling validates what Nigerians already know.
The group urged the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 to immediately reintroduce and pass the requirement for results to be transmitted electronically.
It read, “Publicly account for those members who opposed this clause, so they do not use the cover of the senate or house of representatives to avoid public scrutiny and explain their positions to Nigerians.”Make sure they are held responsible for the use of legislative authority, which they have profited from for the past 26 years since Nigeria gained its independence.
In a same vein, the ADC Diaspora Roundtable charged Wednesday that the Senate was disregarding the wishes of Nigerians by not requiring the electronic transmission of election results.
The diaspora-based organization criticized the red chamber’s decision to remove the word “real-time” from clauses pertaining to electronic results transmission in a statement released in Abuja.
In advance of the general election in 2027, the group cautioned that the action weakened public trust in the political process.
According to the ADC Diaspora Roundtable declaration, which Yusuf Midala signed, electronic results transmission is “a basic safeguard against manipulation.”
“Weakening the provision runs the risk of reopening old wounds associated with disputed elections, particularly the controversies that followed the 2023 polls,” the statement stated.
“The refusal to make electronic transmission mandatory directly contradicts the clear demand of Nigerians for transparency and credibility in elections,” an excerpt from the statement said. This choice is a concerning indication that the lessons learned in 2023 have not yet been properly applied.
Deep disappointment was also voiced by the Youth-led Electoral Reform Project (YERP-Naija) Consortium.
In a statement, the YERP-Naija Consortium, represented by Bukola Idowu, YERP_Naija National Coordinator, and Executive Director, Kimpact Development Initiative, called the Senate’s action a blow to public trust in electoral integrity.
The group claimed that the Senate’s decision to keep the current structure in place, which permits INEC to decide how results are transmitted administratively, undermines the clarity of the statute and reduces accountability.
The statement claims that requiring electronic transmission would have given a clear and binding legal protection to improve openness and restore confidence, especially among Nigeria’s youth, who saw technology as essential to reestablishing the system’s legitimacy.
Notwithstanding the obstacle, YERP-Naija emphasized that there was a chance for reconsideration given the upcoming Senate-House of Representatives harmonization procedure.
Before the general election in 2027, the consortium pushed the conference committee to work out disagreements and implement reforms that reflected the aspirations of the public and the demands of the youth.
Mass Action Is Threatened by the NLC
The Nigeria Labour Congress, or NLC, urged the Senate to make sure that the modified Electoral Act gave INEC a clear mandate to electronically transmit and compile polling station results in real-time.
According to the NLC, the modified Act must guarantee INEC’s mandate regarding the electronic transmission of election results is clear. It also stated that the 2027 election process must be based on clarity rather than uncertainty.
The labour movement warned that if electronic transmission is not included in real-time, there will be widespread protests before, during, and after the election or a complete boycott, according to a statement made by NLC President Joe Ajaero.
“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,” the statement read. This ambiguity seriously jeopardizes our democracy and erodes public trust.
“We urge the Senate to make sure that its procedures are open and its results are transparent in order to rebuild parliamentary trust.
“The amended Act must clearly mandate that INEC electronically transmit and compile polling unit results in real-time.” Confusion must be avoided in favor of certainty as the foundation for the 2027 elections.
Nigerians, according to NLC, should have a transparent electoral process where their votes would be counted and perceived as such.
“We implore the Senate to furnish a prompt, official, and clear explanation of its actions and ultimate determinations,” it said.
Public records indicate that the current discretionary provision was kept in place and that the proposed modification to require INEC to transmit results electronically in real-time was not enacted.
“This has caused anxiety across the country, and further clarifications have only made matters more confusing. Such legal uncertainty, which parallels previous disputes that have caused national sorrow, runs the risk of institutionalizing doubt at the core of our voting integrity at a crucial moment following the 2023 elections.
As a result, the NLC calls for prompt openness and clarification. The Senate must release a final statement outlining the precise provisions that were passed, elaborating on their final wording and justification.
