- SERAP Petitions CCB Over Alleged Irregularities in Electoral Act
- Group alleges secret removal of electronic transmission provisions
- Organisation threatens legal action if CCB fails to act
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), demanding a comprehensive investigation into alleged irregularities in the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and the Tax Reform Laws by members of the National Assembly and other public officers.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that in a petition dated February 7, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged the Bureau to act within seven days, warning that failure to do so could trigger legal action.
SERAP alleged that some senators secretly removed provisions on electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill after a majority of lawmakers had voted for their inclusion. The organisation claimed the alleged removal occurred during plenary without debate or proper legislative procedure.
“According to our information, certain members of the Senate allegedly removed the provisions during plenary after the majority of the senators had voted for the inclusion of the provisions and without any debate on the proposed removal,” the petition stated.
The group argued that such actions amount to a breach of constitutional due process and raised concerns about abuse of office, conflict of interest, and lack of transparency in the lawmaking process.
SERAP also drew attention to alleged discrepancies between the harmonised tax reform bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted and signed into law by the Federal Government. It cited a motion raised by Sokoto lawmaker Abdussamad Dasuki, who alerted the House to material differences between the approved bills and the final published copies.
“The alterations contained in the gazetted copies did not receive legislative approval. These alleged unlawful alterations raise questions over the legality and legitimacy of both the law-making processes and the versions of the tax laws circulated by the Federal Ministry of Information,” SERAP said.
The Senate has since denied removing provisions on electronic transmission, clarifying that lawmakers only deleted the phrase “real time” due to concerns about possible legal challenges arising from network failures during elections.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly has initiated an internal investigation into the tax law discrepancies and released what it described as certified versions of the Acts. The new tax laws took effect on January 1, 2026.
SERAP maintained that the actions of both legislative and executive officials may have violated the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, calling on the CCB to investigate possible inducements, abuse of power, and breaches of public trust.
“Public officers must not place themselves in situations where personal interests conflict with official duties,” the organisation stressed.
The petition was addressed to the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Abdullahi Bello.
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