The Senate, often referred to as the Red Chamber, is the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly that plays a critical role in Nigeria’s law-making and governance.
Amending and passing bills is a primary duty of the Senate in a bicameral legislative system, as it is constitutionally vested with the power to amend and pass bills into laws.
As such, the month of February experienced heated debates, as the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 sparked a lot of controversies from opposition party leaders, civil society organisations, and some other stakeholders across the nation.
This is because it directly affects how Nigerians vote and how election results will be announced. Regardless, the president signed the bill into law, emphasising the need not to fully rely on E-transmission of results due to glitches that might arise as a result of unstable networks or other related issues.
What caused the controversy?
The Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 became controversial mainly because of how election results should be sent from polling units.
After the problems that followed the 2023 general elections, many Nigerians demanded that results be uploaded immediately from polling units to the iReV – a result portal managed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Many Nigerians, including opposition parties, wanted real-time electronic transmission so that party agents, observers, and citizens could see the results instantly.
Many believed this would reduce manipulation and increase trust in elections.
But during the debate at the National Assembly, lawmakers removed the mandatory requirement for real-time transmission. According to a Tribune Online report, the final version of the law still allows electronic transmission, but it says it should happen after results are recorded and signed. It also says that if there is a technical failure or network problems, manual results can be used instead.
That was where the tension heightened, as the phrase technical failure was too broad and could be abused. They argued that if officials claim network problems, results could be delayed or handled manually, which some Nigerians find hard to trust.
Opposition leaders, including Atiku Abubakar, rejected the amendment, describing it as anti-democratic and saying it could weaken transparency before the 2027 elections. Civil society organisations also raised concerns during the bill’s harmonisation stage. They warned that weakening the real-time transmission clause could reduce public confidence in elections.
However, despite the criticism, the bill was passed by both chambers and assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in February 2026.
The Presidency defended the law, saying it does not stop electronic transmission, explaining that the changes were made because Nigeria does not have strong internet coverage everywhere and because of concerns about cyber attacks.