Senate reconvenes today as Electoral Act triggers uproar

Akpabio

The Senate will on Tuesday (today) hold an emergency plenary session amid rising national outrage over its handling of amendments to the Electoral Act, particularly the controversial decision to drop the clause mandating real-time electronic transmission of election results.

The extraordinary sitting, convened less than a week after the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026, comes as pressure mounts from civil society organisations, opposition figures, labour unions, professional bodies, regional leaders, and a swelling youth movement that has taken its anger to the gates of the National Assembly.

The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is expected to preside over the plenary, which will be attended by the remaining 105 senators.

In the past six months, the Upper Chamber has lost two members — Senator Okechukwu Ezea of Enugu State and Senator Godiya Akwashiki of Nasarawa State — to death. A third lawmaker, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, recently exited the chamber after being appointed an ambassador-designate by President Bola Tinubu. The development has reduced the number of senators from 109 to 106

The emergency session was formally announced on Sunday in a statement signed by the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo.

“The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has directed the reconvening of plenary for an emergency sitting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026,” the statement read.

Plenary is scheduled to commence at 12 noon. Punch