Senate schedules emergency plenary on Tuesday for debate on e-transmission of election results

The Nigerian Senate has scheduled an emergency plenary sitting for Tuesday, February 10, at 12 noon. The Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, issued a notice on Sunday, February 8, stating the session was convened on the directive of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The emergency sitting occurs amidst significant public pressure on the National Assembly to revisit a key provision in the Electoral Amendment Bill. This follows the Senate’s deliberation on the bill last Wednesday, where it voted to retain the existing clause 60(3) concerning the electronic transmission of election results as contained in the 2022 Electoral Act.

Critically, during that session, the Senate rejected proposed amendments that would have mandated the real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units. It also voted against imposing a 10-year ban on vote-buyers, opting to maintain the current sanctions of fines or jail terms. The retained clause states that results shall be transferred “in a manner as prescribed by the [Independent National Electoral] Commission,” language that critics argue grants INEC too much discretion and could enable delays or manipulation.

While Senate leaders have clarified that the bill, as passed last week, enjoyed majority support, the decision to reject real-time transmission has sparked widespread debate and criticism from electoral reform advocates. The emergency sitting on Tuesday is widely seen as a direct response to this pressure, potentially to reconsider the contentious clause.