Senate to reconvene for emergency plenary on Tuesday

The Senate has scheduled an emergency plenary sitting for Tuesday, February 10, 2026, amid ongoing debates over amendments to the Electoral Act and growing public scrutiny of recent legislative decisions.

The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, who said all senators have been requested to attend.

According to the statement, Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed lawmakers to reconvene for the session, which will commence at 12 noon.

“The President of the Senate has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026,” Odo said.

The development comes days after the Senate, on February 4, rejected a proposed amendment seeking to make the real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory.

Although the upper chamber passed the Electoral Bill 2026 after hours of debate, it voted against a recommendation by the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters that would have compelled presiding officers to upload polling unit results directly and immediately to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

Instead, lawmakers retained the provision in the 2022 Electoral Act, which allows electronic transmission only after votes have been counted and publicly declared at polling units.

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The decision has drawn criticism from civil society groups and pro-democracy advocates, who argue that rejecting mandatory real-time transmission could weaken transparency and accountability in future elections.

Meanwhile, INEC has said it is unable to release the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections due to the ongoing amendments to the Electoral Act by the National Assembly. The commission also flagged concerns over the presence of deceased persons on the voters’ register and announced plans for a nationwide verification exercise.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) warned that delays in concluding the amendments could expose political parties to legal and technical uncertainties ahead of the polls, while activists including former minister Oby Ezekwesili and lawyer Femi Falana have criticised the Senate’s stance.

Under the existing provisions retained by lawmakers, presiding officers are required to count votes at polling units, record results on official forms, announce them publicly and transmit them electronically to designated collation centres. Offenders face penalties of up to N500,000 in fines or a minimum of six months’ imprisonment.

Tuesday’s emergency sitting is expected to address pressing legislative matters and could see further deliberations on the controversial electoral reforms as pressure mounts for greater transparency ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Star