The Senate has scheduled an emergency plenary sitting for Tuesday, February 10, 2026, amid growing tension over recent legislative decisions.
The announcement, released on Sunday by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, confirmed that “The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday, February 10th 2026.”
The session is expected to begin at noon.
This urgent meeting follows the Senate’s February 4 decision to reject a proposal that would have made the real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
While lawmakers passed the Electoral Bill 2026—introducing reforms to election timelines and penalties—they voted down a recommendation to compel presiding officers to upload results to the IReV portal immediately.
Instead, they opted to keep the 2022 provision that allows for electronic transmission only after votes are manually counted and announced.
This legislative delay has put the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a difficult position.
Although INEC has completed the schedule for the 2027 general elections, it is currently “unable to release it due to ongoing amendments to the Electoral Act by the National Assembly.”
The Senate’s stance has faced heavy pushback from the public and prominent figures like Oby Ezekwesili, while groups such as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) warned that the delay could “expose political parties to technical and legal pitfalls ahead of the 2027 general elections.” Legal challenges are also mounting from senior advocates like Femi Falana.
Under the current rules, presiding officers must count votes at the unit, record them on official forms, and then “transmit them electronically to the appropriate collation centre.”
Failure to comply with these steps can result in fines of N500,000 or at least six months in prison.
Tuesday’s emergency session is widely seen as a potential turning point where the Senate may reconsider its position on real-time transmission to address the widespread outcry and ensure a more verifiable democratic process.
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