The Nigerian Senate has approved the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026, dismissing reports that lawmakers voted to scrap the electronic transmission of election results.
The bill was passed on Wednesday after more than four hours of heated debate, particularly over the proposed amendment to Clause 60(3), which sparked widespread speculation on social media that the Senate had rejected real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IREV).
Reacting to the controversy, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the reports as inaccurate and misleading, insisting that the Senate did not vote against electronic transmission.
“The Senate has not rejected electronic transmission of results,” Akpabio said shortly after the bill’s passage. “What we did was to retain the provision already in the Act, which permits electronic transmission and was applied in the 2022 elections. This Senate cannot afford to go backwards.”
Debate on the contentious clause began around 2:00 p.m. and concluded at approximately 6:26 p.m., following concerns that a proposed amendment mandating presiding officers to transmit signed and stamped result sheets electronically to IREV in real time could introduce legal complications.
Instead, lawmakers opted to retain the existing wording of the Electoral Act, which allows election results to be transmitted “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”
Akpabio stressed that the decision does not eliminate electronic transmission from Nigeria’s electoral framework, adding that the provision remains valid and will continue to guide future elections.
Similarly, Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu said the Senate did not discard the committee’s recommendation on electronic transmission but avoided provisions that could create legal technicalities during election disputes.
Adaramodu also disclosed that the amendment removed the power to declare a runner-up as winner in cases where a candidate earlier declared elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is later found to be unqualified to contest.
Electronic transmission of election results has remained one of the most contentious elements of Nigeria’s electoral reform discussions since the 2023 general elections, with civil society groups and opposition parties advocating clearer legal safeguards to enhance transparency and public trust.
Following the bill’s passage, the Senate announced the composition of a conference committee to harmonise its version with that of the House of Representatives. The committee will be chaired by Adeniyi Adegbonmire, with Tahir Monguno, Simon Lalong, Adamu Aliero, Orji Uzor Kalu, Abba Moro, Asuquo Ekpeyong, Aminu Abbas, and Tokunbo Abiru serving as members.
Meanwhile, the Senate adjourned plenary until February 24, 2026, to allow lawmakers focus on the defence of the 2026 budget by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
