The Senate has fixed an emergency plenary session for Tuesday, February 10, 2026, amid ongoing debates over the electronic transmission of election results.
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 on Tuesday, 10th February, 2026, at 12:00 noon in the Senate Chamber,” the notice stated.
Odo urged all senators to attend the sitting, apologising for any inconvenience the sudden notice may cause.
Although no official reason was given for the emergency session, it comes in the wake of public controversy surrounding the passage of the Electoral Act amendment bill, particularly provisions relating to the electronic transmission of election results.
The debate centres on Clause 60(3) of the bill. Last Wednesday, the Senate retained the provision on electronic transmission of results as contained in the 2022 Electoral Act but rejected proposals for real-time transmission and a 10-year ban on vote-buying, opting instead to maintain existing penalties of fines and jail terms.
Following the development, the Senate has faced criticism from various quarters. However, some lawmakers have defended the decision, insisting that electronic transmission itself was never rejected.
Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, said more than 85 per cent of senators supported electronic transmission of results.
“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 in an interview with Channels Television.
According to him, the only adjustment made during the executive session was the removal of the phrase “in real time” due to concerns about network challenges in some areas.
Umeh added that confusion arose during plenary when a motion was reportedly moved to replace the word “transmission” with “transfer” without proper debate.
“It was only ‘real time’ that was expunged because of network issues. Transmission itself was never in dispute,” he said, stressing that the matter had already been exhaustively discussed and resolved during the executive session.
