The Senate has announced that it will hold an emergency plenary sitting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, amid growing public controversy surrounding its recent amendments to the Electoral Act.
In a notice issued by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, lawmakers were directed to reconvene at the National Assembly complex on the instruction of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
“I am directed by His Excellency, the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, GCON, to inform all Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that an Emergency Sitting of the Senate has been scheduled to hold as follows: Date: Tuesday, 10th February, 2026. Time: 12:00 Noon. Venue: Senate Chamber,” the notice read.
Odo urged all senators to attend the sitting, adding, “All inconveniences this will cause to Distinguished Senators are highly regretted, please.”
Although no official reason was stated for the emergency session, it comes barely days after the Senate passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill on February 4 and adjourned plenary shortly afterwards. The development has been linked to debates and public backlash over Clause 60(3) of the bill, which relates to the electronic transmission of election results.
On Wednesday, the Senate retained provisions for the electronic transmission of results as contained in the 2022 Electoral Act but rejected proposals for mandatory real-time transmission of results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing (IReV) portal. The Red Chamber also voted against a proposed 10-year ban on vote-buying, opting instead to retain existing sanctions involving jail terms and fines.
The decision has attracted criticism from civil society organisations and opposition figures, who described it as a setback for Nigeria’s democratic process. Some stakeholders have also threatened legal action, including human rights lawyer Femi Falana.
However, Senate leaders and some lawmakers have defended the amendment. Senate President Godswill Akpabio has insisted that the chamber did not reject electronic transmission of results and said the legislature would not be intimidated.
Similarly, the senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, said the bill enjoyed overwhelming support in the Senate.
“Over 85 per cent of senators agreed to electronic transmission. It was common ground. Even the ad hoc committee of the Senate agreed to it,” Umeh said.
According to him, the only modification approved during an executive session was the removal of the phrase “in real time” due to concerns about network challenges in some areas. He said confusion later arose during plenary when a motion was reportedly moved to replace the word “transmission” with “transfer” without debate.
Tuesday’s emergency plenary is expected to revisit the controversial amendment as public pressure mounts and questions persist over the Senate’s handling of the Electoral Act reforms.
