Abuja — The Senate has announced an emergency plenary session for Tuesday, February 10, 2026, amid rising public anger over its passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill and the rejection of a clause mandating real-time electronic transmission of election results.
The decision was disclosed on Sunday in a statement signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, directing all senators to reconvene at 12 noon.
“The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday,” the statement said.
The emergency sitting comes as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) warned of mass protests and possible election boycotts, accusing the Senate of creating confusion through contradictory explanations on electronic transmission of results.
The NLC said the failure to make electronic transmission mandatory undermines public trust in the electoral process.
“Nigerians deserve a transparent system where votes are not only counted but seen to be counted,” the Congress said.
Similarly, a coalition of political activists under the banner of the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) condemned the Senate’s action as a “deliberate act of democratic sabotage” and announced a protest tagged “Occupy NASS”, scheduled for Monday in Abuja.
On February 4, the Senate passed the amendment bill but voted down Clause 60(3), which sought to compel presiding officers to transmit election results electronically and in real time from polling units to INEC’s Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
Instead, lawmakers retained the existing provision allowing electronic transmission at INEC’s discretion after results are announced at polling units—a move critics say leaves room for manipulation during collation.
Civil society groups, election observers and opposition figures have since described the decision as a major setback to electoral credibility.
Meanwhile, the bipartisan Conference Committee of the House of Representatives is set to meet its Senate counterpart this week to harmonise differences between both versions of the bill.
A committee member, Saidu Abdullahi, confirmed the plan, saying, “We will meet within the week and discuss.”
The committee is chaired by Lagos lawmaker Adebayo Balogun and is tasked with reconciling disputed clauses ahead of final passage.
NLC President Joe Ajaero demanded an immediate and unambiguous explanation of the provisions passed by the Senate, warning that ambiguity could institutionalise distrust in the electoral system.
“Failure to mandate real-time electronic transmission will lead to mass action before, during and after elections, or total boycott,” the NLC warned.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has defended the chamber’s action, insisting that the Senate did not reject electronic transmission and vowed not to be intimidated by pressure.
The pan-Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere also called on the National Assembly’s joint committee to reinstate mandatory real-time electronic transmission, warning that democracy would suffer if transparency is sacrificed.
“Afenifere cautions that care must be taken not to completely lose the people’s trust. Let democracy breathe,” the group said.
It described the Senate’s decision as regressive and warned that keeping electronic transmission optional exposes elections to manipulation and administrative abuse.
With labour unions, civil society groups, opposition parties and regional organisations all demanding legislative reversal, the emergency Senate sitting is expected to be closely watched as a potential turning point in Nigeria’s electoral reform debate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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