The Senate has announced that it will hold an emergency plenary sitting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, amid growing public controversy over its recent amendments to the Electoral Act.
The announcement was made 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 10th, 2026,” the statement said, adding that the session would commence at 12 noon and that all senators had been requested to attend.
The emergency sitting comes barely days after the Senate passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill on February 4 but voted down Clause 60(3), which sought to make the real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
The rejected clause would have required presiding officers at polling units to electronically transmit results directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
Instead, the Senate retained the existing provision allowing only the discretionary “transfer” of results after votes are counted and publicly announced at polling units.
The decision has triggered strong reactions from civil society organisations and opposition figures, who described the move as a setback for Nigeria’s democratic development.
However, Senate President Godswill Akpabio has defended the chamber’s position, insisting during a public engagement that the Senate did not reject electronic transmission of results and declaring that the legislature would not be intimidated.
Tuesday’s emergency plenary is expected to revisit the controversial amendment amid sustained public outcry and the prospect of legal challenges by some stakeholders, including human rights lawyer, Femi Falana.
1SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER NOW
Support MATAZ ARISING’ journalism of integrity and credibility.
Good journalism ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
We ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
TEXT AD: To advertise here – Email ad@matazarising.com
LATEST POSTS
-
Afrophobia: Should Nigeria ask South African companies to leave?
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Monday Lines 2 Afrophobia: Should Nigeria ask South African companies to leave? By Lasisi Olagunju (Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 6 July, 2026). Jacob Zuma was President of South Africa when he declared on October 21, 2013 that South Africa should not “think like Africans in Africa, generally.” The remark,…
-
Why I did not take Brazil’s penalty against Norway – Vinicius
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Brazil’s hopes of ending their long wait for World Cup glory came to a painful end after a 2-1 defeat to Norway in the Round of 16, with Erling Haaland scoring twice to eliminate the five-time champions. The aftermath of the defeat was dominated by questions over why Vinicius Júnior did not…
-
Blatter questions ‘political power’ after Trump’s FIFA phone call
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Monday he questioned the football governing body’s decision to suspend US striker Folarin Balogun’s red card ban. Sources told AFP US President Donald Trump had called FIFA’s current chief Gianni Infantino to ask FIFA to review Balogun’s automatic one-game suspension. The 25-year-old is now…
