Nigerian Senate to hold emergency sitting on electoral bill


The Senate has announced that it will hold an emergency plenary sitting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
The announcement was made on Sunday in a statement signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, who said all senators have been requested to attend.
“The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026,” the statement read.
The session is scheduled to commence at 12 noon.
This comes just days after the Senate passed the amendment bill on February 4, but voted down Clause 60(3), which would have required presiding officers to electronically transmit results from polling units directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing portal in real time.
The rejected clause aimed to make the process mandatory.
The lawmaker replaced it with the current discretionary “transfer” of results, which allows electronic transmission only after votes are counted and publicly announced at polling units.
Civil society groups and opposition figures have condemned the Senate’s decision, labelling it a setback for Nigeria’s democratic progress.
Senate President Akpabio has, however, defended the chamber’s actions, insisting during a public event that the Senate did not reject electronic transmission and vowing not to be intimidated.
Tuesday’s emergency sitting could see the Senate reconsider the rejected amendment amid public outcry and potential legal challenges from figures such as lawyer Femi Falana, with possible implications for Nigeria’s democratic processes and the balance between incumbency protections and verifiable voting technology.





