Nigerian Senate rescinds earlier rejection, approves conditional electronic transmission of election results
*It is either total e-trabsnissiin or nothing – Protesters
*Electoral Act alteration threatens Nigeria’s democracy, ACF warns
*Lauretta Onochie lambasts conditional e-transmission
*After having 30 governors, so many lawmakers to your side, what are you afraid of? Tinubu, APC asked
*A Senate failed to achieve unconditional electronic transmission of election results bill passage
By SUMAYYAH ADEFAKA, KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTER, Abuja
African Democratic Congress (ADC) frontline woman, Lauretta Onochie, in her reaction said: “What happened at the Senate today, was nothing but a clear and an undiluted 419. A collection of full-time house-boys, acting in the interests of their paymaster.”
The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria backed down on its earlier stance of rejecting real-time electronic transmission of election results when, on Tuesday February 10, 2026 at an emergency plenary forced by protesters led by Peter Obi and other opposition members occupying the National Assembly Complex, it rescinded and re-amended provisions of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026 to accommodate electronic transmission of election results.
It, however, still went ahead making the approval without making real-time upload mandatory, sparking range of the protesters who said making Nigerians’ vote must not be conditional as it is their exclusive right.
The tension followed the Senate’s decision to revisit Clause 60(3) of the bill, barely days after it had rejected a proposal seeking to compel real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,’s Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
After hours of heated debate, the Senate adopted a revised Clause 60(3) mandating electronic transmission of results after Form EC8A (result sheet) had been signed and stamped at polling units, while providing that where electronic transmission fails due to network challenges, the manually signed EC8A shall remain the primary basis for collation and declaration of results.
However, the amended clause stopped short of compelling real-time transmission.
The re-amended Clause 60(3) provides that: “Results shall be transmitted electronically from each polling unit to the IReV after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and party agents who are available at the polling unit.
“Provided that where the electronic transmission of results fails as a result of communication failure, the result contained in Form EC8A, signed by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by polling agents shall, in such a case, be the primary source for collation and declaration of results.”
Monguno moves to rescind earlier decision
Trouble began when Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, commenced consideration of the Votes and Proceedings of the previous sitting.
At item 148, Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno raised a point of order under Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, seeking to rescind the chamber’s earlier rejection of electronic transmission.
Monguno said the move was informed by public reaction and the need to align the Electoral Act with Nigerians’ expectations.
“This amendment is to bring our laws in line with the wishes and aspirations of the people,” he said.
The motion was seconded by Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), and supported by Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South).
Monguno added: “Upon careful examination of the bill, fresh issues have emerged in respect of Clause 60(3), requiring further legislative consideration for smooth and transparent elections.”
Moro noted that electoral legislation must be subjected to the highest level of scrutiny because of its implications for democracy and political stability.
However, the debate quickly became contentious when Enyinnaya Abaribe invoked Order 72, insisting that the Senate could not revisit the clause in the manner proposed and that, at the very least, senators should be allowed to vote individually on the matter.
Abaribe’s intervention triggered loud exchanges across the chamber, with several senators speaking simultaneously and challenging the procedure being adopted.
The disagreement escalated into a rowdy session as lawmakers argued over whether the motion was admissible and whether the Senate was setting a precedent that could allow previously concluded decisions to be easily overturned.
For about 10 minutes, proceedings were stalled as the Senate leadership struggled to restore order.
The Senate President repeatedly called for calm, urging lawmakers to respect parliamentary procedure and allow the chair to manage the debate.
When relative calm was restored, Akpabio asked Abaribe whether he intended to formally proceed with the point of order he had raised.
The Abia lawmaker, sensing the numerical strength of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, withdrew his motion, allowing proceedings to continue.
At the moment, the APC has 80 senators; PDP 21; NNPP 1; APGA 1; LP 2 and ADC 1.
At the end of plenary, the Senate adopted the Votes and Proceedings as amended, following a motion moved by Senator Diket Plang and seconded by Senator Seriake Dickson.
Akpabio thereafter, announced the constitution of a 12-member Conference Committee to harmonise the Senate version of the bill with that of the House of Representatives, urging members to conclude their work within one week to enable President Bola Tinubu assent to the bill this month.
“This is a matter of urgency. If you conclude within one week, the President should be able to sign the bill into law within the month,” Akpabio said.
Senator Simon Lalong will chair the committee. Other members include Senators Tahir Monguno, Niyi Adegbonmire, Adamu Aliero, Orji Uzor Kalu, Abba Moro, Asuquo Ekpenyong, Aminu Abbas, Tokunbo Abiru, Jubril Isah, Ipalibo Banigo, and Peter Nwaebonyi.
Background
The Senate had earlier rejected a proposal seeking mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results, opting instead to retain provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 that allow INEC determine the mode of transmission.
That decision sparked widespread protests by civil society groups and opposition figures who argued that removing “real time” weakens electoral transparency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While Senate leadership has maintained that electronic transmission was never rejected outright, critics insist that the absence of a real-time requirement leaves room for manipulation.
Amaechi takes son to NASS protest ground
Meanwhile, former Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and his first son, joined protesters at the National Assembly, yesterday, to protest against the Senate’s rejection of real-time transmission of election results.
Amaechi is the second chieftain of the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress, ADC, to join the protest.
Recall that on Monday, Peter Obi, one of the ADC presidential aspirants, had joined the protest, calling on the National Assembly to allow real-time transmission of results.
Speaking at the protest ground, Amaechi said he asked his son, a medical doctor, to join, so he could attend to protesters in need of medical attention.
“There are those who say we, the politicians, want protest but our children are overseas. But here is my first son. He is a medical doctor; I brought him here and his job is that if there is injury, he should treat people.”
As Amaechi spoke, his son who wore a black native attire, beamed with smiles.
He said leaders ought to be at the forefront of major protests and be willing to involve their families.
On the subject matter, the politician said his former party, the APC, was opposed to electronic transmission of election results because of its fears of losing elections.
He said: “I believe the opposition parties should come out — PDP, ADC, everybody should be out — to protest against the attempt at one party. If we come out, and they say the opposition has hijacked the protest, what is APC doing? Are they not hijacking? What are they afraid of?”
He added that opposition parties and civil society organisations will continue the protests, even if Senate President, Akpabio, and President Tinubu look the other way.
Also reacting Tuesday, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, raised alarm over alleged alterations to provisions of the Electoral Act by the National Assembly, describing the development as dangerous to Nigeria’s democracy and demanding that it be stopped immediately.
The pan-Northern socio-political organisation said the alleged alterations, coming after the bill had been duly passed by the legislature, amounted to an assault on the integrity of the lawmaking process.
ACF National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, said the forum is deeply concerned by what he described as emerging circumstances in which allegations are being raised about the contents of bills emanating from the National Assembly. He noted that the issue of alleged tampering with legislation is not new, recalling that similar concerns had previously been raised over other laws before the current controversy surrounding the Electoral Act.
“We have great concern with the emerging circumstances where allegations arise about the content of bills from the National Assembly,” Muhammad-Baba said.
He added: “Most worrying is the evidence of tampering with provisions after legislation has been duly passed. It was the total laws before, now the Electoral Bill.”
The ACF spokesperson stressed that Nigeria operates a democratic system in which the decisions of the National Assembly, as passed by elected representatives of the people, must be respected and treated as inviolable.
“We are practising a democracy, warts and all, and the decisions of the National Assembly, as passed by elected representatives, must be treated as sacrosanct—nothing else,” he said.
Muhammad-Baba warned that any tendency to alter laws after passage, regardless of reasons behind it, posed a serious threat to democratic governance.
According to him, “the emerging tendency to tinker with the laws must be resisted, no matter the motivation of any interests.”
Public pressure forced Senate reversal on e-transmission of results – ADC
Similarly, African Democratic Congress, ADC, described the Senate’s decision to reverse contentious provisions in the Electoral Amendment Bill, including those concerning the electronic transmission of results, as a victory driven by sustained public pressure, and urged Nigerians to remain vigilant until the bill was fully assented and becomes law.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement, credited coordinated civic action across the country, both online and offline, for compelling lawmakers to reconsider the controversial provisions.
He said: “The decision of the 10th Senate to urgently reverse the contentious provisions of the Electoral Amendment Bill that it passed is a significant victory for the Nigerian people.
‘’It demonstrates, in the clearest possible terms, that when citizens act with unity, clarity of purpose and resolve, they can, indeed, move mountains.
“This outcome is not merely a legislative U-turn, it is a testament to the resilience, vigilance, and rising political consciousness of Nigerians across all walks of life.
“From street protests to digital campaigns, the Nigerian people have once again shown that sovereignty truly belongs to them.”
While welcoming the Senate’s reversal, ADC cautioned that the legislative process had not yet been completed and called on citizens to sustain pressure until the amendments were formally enacted.
African Democratic Congress (ADC) frontline woman, Lauretta Onochie, in her reaction said: “What happened at the Senate today, was nothing but a clear and an undiluted 419. A collection of full-time house-boys, acting in the interests of their paymaster.”
More Nigerians are asking that with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his APC having successfully bought over 30 governors and many lawmakers unto themselves, the foot dragging and inability of the Senate generally to be the executive rubber stamp over demand for unconditional electronic transmission of election results is shown of fear of defeat in the general elections.
