By Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
IN a dramatic emergency plenary on Tuesday, the Senate dramatically rewrote the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 for the second time in a single week, rescinding its previous decisions and triggering fresh controversy over the transmission of election results.
The upper legislative chamber moved to readjust the 360-day notice requirement prescribed in clause 28, slashing it by 60 days to ensure that the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections do not fall within the period of Ramadan. The move follows intense lobbying by the Muslim community and consultations with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, in a development that has sent shockwaves through political circles, the Senate also rejected—for the second time in seven days—the mandatory “real time” electronic transmission of election results. Instead, lawmakers voted to retain a proviso allowing for manual transmission where network failure occurs.
Late-Night Drama
The session descended into chaos when senators reached clause 60, the most contentious section of the bill. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe raised a point of order, forcing the chamber into a closed-door session lasting nearly an hour.
Upon reopening, tensions escalated further, with Abaribe calling for a formal division on the proviso in clause 60(3) that permits manual transmission when networks fail.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio presided over the vote, asking senators to stand and raise their hands to indicate their position. In a decisive outcome, 55 senators—including Deputy Minority Leader Oyewunmi Olalere—voted to retain the manual transmission proviso. Only 14 lawmakers, mainly from the opposition, supported Abaribe’s call for mandatory real-time electronic transmission.
Akpabio declared that those who voted for the proviso had “saved Nigeria’s democracy,” while hailing Abaribe and his colleagues for standing their ground.
INEC Consultations Prompt Rethink
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, moving under Orders 1(b) and 52(6), called for the complete rescindment and re-commitment of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2026. He explained that the review followed a meeting between INEC leadership and both chambers of the National Assembly to resolve conflicts between the proposed election dates and Ramadan.
INEC had announced last Friday that the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections would be held on February 20, with governorship and state assembly polls scheduled for March 6. The timing drew fierce criticism from Muslim groups concerned about voter turnout during the holy month.
Senator Simon Lalong, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, defended INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan, clarifying that the dates were not deliberately set to conflict with Ramadan. He revealed that the template for election dates from 2019 to 2031 was actually established by former INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu.
Discrepancies Uncovered
The Senate disclosed that it had uncovered discrepancies in the bill’s Long Title and 22 separate clauses. The chamber passed clauses 1 to 59—including the amended clause 28 reducing the notice period from 360 to 300 days—with relative ease before hitting the roadblock of clause 60.
The Senate maintained that holding elections during Ramadan “could adversely affect voter turnout, INEC’s preparation and the overall credibility of the electoral process.”
With Tuesday’s amendments, the Senate has now twice rejected real-time electronic transmission, insisting that where network fails, the signed Form EC8A—manually transmitted—shall remain the primary source of election results.
The Red Chamber adjourned plenary until Tuesday, February 24, 2027, leaving the nation to ponder the implications of yet another twist in the tortuous journey of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
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