The Senate on Tuesday commenced an emergency plenary session on the contentious amendments to the Electoral Act, as protests erupted around the National Assembly over the removal of the clause mandating real-time electronic transmission of election results.
The extraordinary sitting comes less than a week after the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026, and amid mounting pressure from civil society organisations, opposition parties, labour unions, professional bodies, regional leaders and youth groups who accuse the lawmakers of weakening the credibility of future elections.
Protesters, many of whom converged on the National Assembly complex early in the day, carried placards and chanted slogans demanding the reinstatement of electronic transmission provisions and greater transparency in the legislative process.
President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is presiding over the session, which is being attended by the remaining senators following recent changes in the composition of the Upper Chamber.
In the last six months, the Senate lost two members—Senator Okechukwu Ezea of Enugu State and Senator Godiya Akwashiki of Nasarawa State—to death, while Senator Jimoh Ibrahim exited the chamber after his appointment as an ambassador-designate by President Bola Tinubu, reducing the number of senators from 109 to 106.
The emergency sitting was announced on Sunday in a statement signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo.
“The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026,” the statement said.
The plenary commenced at noon, with the Electoral Act amendments expected to dominate deliberations as the protests continue outside the complex.
Text except headline courtesy of Vanguard.
