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From Kenneth Udeh, Abuja
What began as an emergency plenary on Tuesday unfolded into a tense, theatrical session inside the Nigerian Senate as lawmakers retraced their steps on the controversial Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, following public backlash and Monday and Tuesday’s “Occupy National Assembly” protest.
Tuesday’s protest drew prominent figures to the National Assembly, including former Minister of Sports Solomon Dalung and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, alongside other demonstrators opposing the Senate’s earlier stance on real-time transmission of election results.
As protesters remained outside the main gate awaiting the lawmakers’ decision, the chamber had barely settled when Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), rose under Order 42 to move a motion of urgent public importance.
His title was direct and loaded: “Motion for Rescission on Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2026.”
He reminded colleagues that the bill had been passed on Wednesday, February 4, but that “fresh issues” had since emerged requiring further legislative consideration to guarantee “smooth, transparent and credible elections.”
His motion read:
“The Senate: Recalls that the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill was passed by the Senate on Wednesday, 4th February, 2026 Notes that upon careful examination of the Bill, fresh issues have emerged in respect of Clause 60(3), which requires further legislative consideration in order to ensure the conduct of smooth, transparent, and credible elections in Nigeria; and Relying on the provisions of Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2023 (as amended),
Relying on Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, Monguno urged the Senate to rescind its earlier decision on the clause and recommit it to the Committee of the Whole for reconsideration.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio aligned with the motion. But what followed was not a routine legislative correction.
Revisiting the votes and proceedings
Before touching the clause itself, Akpabio took the chamber through the formal adoption of the Votes and Proceedings of February 4, flipping through pages that ran deep into the 1500s.
“Those in support… say ‘Aye!’” A thunderous “Aye!” filled the chamber.
“Those against… say ‘Nay!’” Silence.
“The Ayes have it.”
With that procedural foundation laid, the Senate returned to the heart of the storm: Clause 60(3).
What changed and what didn’t
Reading the reviewed provision aloud, Akpabio clarified the Senate’s position:
“That the presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IReV portal after Form EC8A has been signed and stamped…”
Then came the critical proviso:
“Provided that if the electronic transmission fails as a result of communication failure… the Form EC8A shall be the primary source of collation and declaration of results.”
The Senate retained electronic transmission as the primary method but removed the words “real-time”.
A fallback was formally recognised: where networks fail, the manually completed, signed Form EC8A becomes the authoritative result.
Akpabio stressed that electronic transmission was never rejected; only the phrase “real-time” was excised to avoid legal disputes in areas with poor connectivity.
The moment the chamber boiled over
Just as the amendment appeared headed for smooth approval, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South, APGA) demanded a division and a recorded vote where each senator’s position would be documented.
Abaribe later attempted to withdraw the motion, leading to a heated procedural dispute with the Senate President over whether a seconder was required.
The chamber erupted. Akpabio tried to steady the chamber, which was already descending into rancour as most lawmakers aligned with Abaribe’s motion.
“This is the beauty of democracy… Abaribe, are you still insisting we vote?”
Sensing the mood of the chamber, Senator Abaribe moved to withdraw his call for a recorded vote and appealed to the Senate President to allow him step back from the motion.
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“Mr. President, I wish to withdraw my motion.” Akpabio scanned the chambers.
“Any seconder? Any seconder?” Voices shouted. Protests rang out.
A majority of the senators, via voice chants, insisted that the process should proceed, prompting Abaribe to argue that, as the mover of the motion, he had the right to withdraw it.
Akpabio ruled that without a seconder, the withdrawal could not stand.
Abaribe fired back: “A point of order does not require a seconder!”
The gavel banged repeatedly as senators shouted across the aisle, urging the Senate to proceed with Abaribe’s motion. For several moments, order dissolved into procedural argument.
After consultations and intervention from senators, including Abdul Ningi, Akpabio relented.
Senator Abdul Ningi then intervened, urging colleagues to permit the withdrawal. After appeals from the Senate President, the chamber agreed, and the request for a division was vacated.
“Senator Abaribe has indicated he has withdrawn… I think we should indulge him.”
The withdrawal was upheld.
The recorded vote was averted. Abaribe sat. The chamber exhaled.
Another point of order declined
Senator Danjuma Goje attempted to raise a personal explanation under Senate rules. Akpabio declined, noting that Goje had not submitted the required written terms in advance as stipulated by procedure.
“Your point of order is noted,” Akpabio said, moving the Senate forward.
Final position of the Senate
The Senate then approved the rescission and recommittal of Clause 60(3) and adopted the revised provision:
Results must be electronically transmitted from polling units to INEC’s IReV portal after documentation.
The term “real-time” is removed.
Where electronic transmission fails, Form EC8A becomes the primary legal basis for collation and declaration.
The amendment passed almost unanimously by voice vote.
Conference committee expanded
In the closing phase of plenary, Akpabio announced the expansion of the Senate’s Conference Committee from nine to 12 members to harmonise differences with the House of Representatives’ version of the bill.
He urged them to conclude their work within one week to enable presidential assent before the end of February.
The Senate committee includes Senators Simon Lalong, Adeniyi Adegbonmire, Tahir Monguno, Adamu Aliero, Orji Uzor Kalu, Abba Moro, Asuquo Ekpeyong, Aminu Abbas, Jibrin Isa Ochocho, Ipalibo Banigo, Tokunbo Abiru and Onyekachi Nwebonyi.
Tuesday’s session was more than a legislative review. It was a chamber responding visibly to public scrutiny, protests and legal concerns.
In the end, the Senate reaffirmed electronic transmission of results but without the burden of the phrase that had sparked nationwide debate.
And for a few charged minutes, the nation watched parliamentary procedure become high drama on the Senate floor.
The Sun recalls that the senators’ earlier position of rejecting the real-time transmission of election results incurred immediate backlash that followed. Civil society groups, opposition figures and election observers accused the Senate of retreating from electoral transparency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili; members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE); Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) chieftain, Chief Bode George; the Obidient Movement; and the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), criticised the Senate for allegedly weakening provisions aimed at strengthening electoral transparency.
Also, Yiaga Africa and Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) carpeted the upper chamber and described the position of the red chamber as working against the expectations of Nigerians for their self-political preservation by enabling provisions that are pro-manipulation.
The critics, who spoke separately, accused the upper legislative chamber of retaining loopholes in the proposed amendment, particularly regarding the electronic transmission of election results, warning that such provisions could undermine public trust in Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
