- Senate reportedly removed real time transmission clause at last minute
- Final bill retained 2022 wording on result transfer
- Emergency plenary fixed amid public backlash
Fresh details have emerged on how the Senate altered the report of its Committee on Electoral Matters to remove the provision on real time electronic transmission of election results at the last minute.
Sources told Vanguard that after the committee, chaired by Senator Simon Lalong, submitted its report, the Senate initially considered a version that retained real time electronic transmission of results.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that however, after hours of deliberations and as plenary stretched late into the evening, the final version passed by the Red Chamber was reportedly amended to expunge the provision without further debate.
The proposal was contained in the Electoral Act 2022 Repeal and Enactment Bill 2026, Senate Bill 903, specifically Clause 60 subsection 3. The amendment sought to compel presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission to upload polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal immediately after completing Form EC8A.
The recommendation also formed part of wider reforms touching on election timelines, penalties for electoral offences and the deployment of voting technology.
A source said three ranking senators from the southern part of the country allegedly approached Senate President Godswill Akpabio during the session, urging him to retain the provision as contained in the 2022 Electoral Act.
According to the source, Akpabio eventually upheld the existing law, which allows electronic transmission only after votes have been counted and publicly announced at polling units.
In the final version, the word transmission was replaced with transfer, aligning the clause with the 2022 Act. The adopted provision reads that the presiding officer shall transfer results in a manner prescribed by the commission.
The rejected amendment would have made the immediate upload of results to the IReV mandatory once polling unit collation was completed.
The decision has drawn widespread criticism from civil society groups, opposition parties and legal experts, who argue that the change weakens electoral transparency.
Amid the backlash, the Senate has been compelled to reconvene for an emergency plenary sitting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 12 noon, despite earlier adjourning proceedings until February 24.
The emergency session is expected to address growing public concern over the amendment process.
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