By Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 into law, following its passage by the National Assembly after months of deliberation.
The newly enacted legislation has sparked intense debate, particularly over the method for transmitting election results ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lawmakers and prominent Nigerians have been sharply divided on provisions relating to electronic transmission.
The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday amid a rowdy plenary session. Proceedings became heated when Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC/Abia South) demanded a division over Clause 60 of the bill.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio initially maintained that the demand had previously been withdrawn, a claim immediately challenged by opposition senators.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, citing Order 52(6), argued that it would be procedurally improper to revisit a provision on which the presiding officer had already ruled.
The disagreement triggered further uproar in the chamber, including a brief face-off between Senator Sunday Karimi and Abaribe.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele reminded colleagues that he had sponsored the motion for rescission, stressing that earlier decisions of the Senate were no longer binding in light of the fresh motion.
Akpabio suggested that Abaribe’s insistence on a division was aimed at publicly demonstrating his position.
After sustaining the point of order, he invited Abaribe to formally move his motion.
Rising under Order 72(1), Abaribe called for a division on Clause 60(3), particularly objecting to the proviso allowing manual transmission of results in the event of failure of electronic transmission.
He argued that Form EC8A should not become the sole basis for result collation where electronic transmission fails.
During voting, Akpabio directed senators supporting the proviso to stand, followed by those opposed.
Fifteen opposition senators voted against the clause, while 55 senators voted in support, resulting in the retention of the contested provision.
Earlier, the Senate had moved into a committee of the whole for a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill after formally seconding a motion to rescind its earlier amendment.
Proceedings were temporarily stalled at Clause 60 when Abaribe raised a point of order, prompting consultations and eventually a closed-door session.
A similar scene unfolded in the House of Representatives, where members clashed over a motion to rescind the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which had provided for compulsory real-time electronic transmission of results to the IReV portal.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, moved the motion in alignment with the Senate’s position.
When Speaker Tajudeen Abbas put the motion to a voice vote, the “nays” appeared louder than the “ayes”. However, he ruled in favour of the “ayes”, a decision that provoked protests and led to an executive session.
The House had earlier, in December 2025, adopted compulsory real-time electronic transmission of election results to IReV.
The latest developments mark a significant shift in the legislative framework governing Nigeria’s electoral process as preparations gradually build towards the 2027 polls.
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